CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team fell to a nationally-ranked power at home on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 67-51 contest to 17^th-ranked IUP at Tippin Gymnasium. Clarion (3-13, 2-9 PSAC) came out of the gates strong against the Crimson Hawks but IUP dominated the third quarter to pull away.
 
The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the contest and were within a point of the Crimson Hawks after seven and a half minutes of action, as they showed no signs of backing down to IUP. It was still just a three-possession ballgame with 41 seconds remaining in the first half of action. It was not until the third quarter that the Crimson Hawks expanded the lead beyond reach, and they led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
 
Charjae Brock led the Golden Eagle starters with seven points, while Siara Conley and Emily Hegedus each finished with four points apiece. Cory Santoro came off the bench for a team-high eight points, while Sierra Bermudez pulled down five rebounds.
 
Heather Ansell notched the first points of the game for the Golden Eagles, knocking down a three-pointer from the head of the key just 34 seconds in. She then made a key play to spring Brock for the next points of the game, swiping the ball from Rajah Fink and eventually working to Brock for a midrange jumper. IUP responded with seven straight points before Clarion evened it up again, with Hegedus making a nice move in the paint for a layup.
 
IUP started making their move late in the first quarter, thought Allyson Kirby cut their lead to 13-12 with a make at the 2:37 mark. The Crimson Hawks' lead reached double-digits early in the second quarter before a 5-0 run by the Golden Eagles pulled them back to within five points. Santoro got things going with a fast break and-one, and Brock drove and scored at the 7:12 mark to make it 22-17. Clarion could not pull closer than that for the remainder of the game, though Olivia Boocks made a jumper with 41 seconds remaining in the first half to keep the deficit in single digits at halftime.
 
The Crimson Hawks stretched the lead to 21 points in the third quarter, outscoring Clarion 19-9 in that 10-minute span to take a 53-34 lead at the break. The Golden Eagles outscored IUP in the fourth quarter, but could not close the gap.