CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team kicked off the weekend series with Mount Aloysius by authoring a dominant effort on Friday, with Clarion defeating the Mounties 84-39 at Tippin Gymnasium. Four Golden Eagles scored in double figures in the offensive showcase.
 
The game was never in question as Clarion held the Mounties to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters, outscoring them by 21 in the first quarter and keeping the pressure on throughout the game. The Golden Eagles went 21-of-41 (.512) from the field in the first half compared to just a 6-of-32 (.188) performance for Mount Aloysius. Rebounds were also lopsided in favor of Clarion, with the Golden Eagles holding a 58-34 edge on the glass.
 
Devon Adams dominated to the tune of a first half double-double, and finished the game with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds in just 19:38 of action. Emily Hegedus had one of her best scoring performances of the season with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Abby Gatesman and Emily Brown each notched 10 points. Allyson Kirby pulled down 11 rebounds of her own, one shy of her season-high set against Carlow on Feb. 18.
 
It was all Clarion from the jump ball as the Golden Eagles opened the game on an 11-3 run, punctuated with Neely Whitehead feeding the ball to Adams in the post for an easy layup at the 6:36 mark. The advantage broke double-digits for good less than seven minutes into the contest after Gatesman scored on a pass from Kirby, making it 16-5. The hits kept on coming for Clarion as the Golden Eagles knocked down threes on three consecutive possessions, with Brown, Gatesman and Kirby scoring from long range to make it 29-5 with a minute remaining in the quarter.
 
The Golden Eagles were on fire in the second quarter as well, outscoring the Mounties 22-8 and pushing the lead up over 30 points with 2:27 left in the half. That was when Brown dropped her second three-pointer of the game, coring from the corner to make it 46-16. Olivia Boocks scored five straight to end the quarter, including a trey over her own with just under a minute left to make it 51-16 at the break. The stingy Clarion defense held the Mounties to just a 3-of-19 (.158) field goal percentage in the third quarter as they expanded the lead to 72-21 with 1:32 left, before finally taking the foot off the pedal a bit in the fourth quarter.
 
Clarion will close out their 2020-21 season on Sunday in a rematch with the Mounties at Tippin Gym.