Clarion Athletics

FAIRMONT, W.Va. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team engaged in a seesaw three quarters of action in their season opener, but Concord controlled the action in the fourth quarter as the Mountain Lions defeated Clarion 55-44 at Joe Retton Arena in the first game of the Atlantic Region Crossover.
 
The two teams traded leads seven times over the course of the afternoon, and the Golden Eagles held the advantage as late as the 7:59 mark of the fourth quarter. By that point Clarion had rebounded from a slow second quarter to overtake Concord in the third, taking a 27-25 lead in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Abby Gatesman. Gatesman in fact made six straight from the charity stripe in the span of 1:03 to turn a deficit into a 29-27 lead. Siara Conley turned it into a three-point lead with 35 seconds left in the third, taking a pass from Sierra Bermudez and draining a jumper in the paint to make it 33-30.
 
Allyson Kirby gave the Golden Eagles another lead early in the fourth quarter, this time converting a feed from Conley into a trey that made it 36-35. Concord's Jaisah Smith quickly countered with a make on the Mountain Lions' next trip down the floor, and the Golden Eagles were held without a bucket until Jada Smith's fast break bucket at the 3:28 mark. It was still just a two-possession ball game with 43 seconds remaining, after Bermudez made a pair of free throws, but Concord made their own free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Kirby got it done in the scorebook and on the boards, scoring 11 points and recording eight rebounds, both team highs. Conley and Gatesman were strong coming off the bench, with the former totaling six points and seven rebounds and the latter eight points and two boards.
 
Clarion got off to a good start, with Bermudez capping a 7-2 run with a three-pointer at the 6:44 mark of the first quarter. Kirby added a trey at the 3:32 mark to keep the advantage for the Golden Eagles, making it 10-6, and Clarion held an 11-10 lead after 10 minutes of action. Neither team made much headway offensively in the second quarter, with Clarion scoring just five points and Concord only eight points. The Mountain Lions led 18-11 but the Golden Eagles bounced back, getting it to 18-16 after consecutive buckets from Conley. That deficit carried into the halftime break.
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