CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team righted the ship after a rocky start, but it was not enough to make up the difference as Clarion fell to Ursuline 69-45 at Tippin Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Arrows jumped out to big lead in the game, clamping down on the Clarion offense in the opening period and holding them scoreless for a good portion of the quarter. The Golden Eagles were able to find some measure of equilibrium after that point, playing within six points of the Arrows for the final 32:23 of action. However, Clarion was unable to chip away at the sizable gap in score.
 
Ava Haddad was the team's leading scorer, chipping in 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. She also blocked a team-high three shots in her 30 minutes of action. Jada Smith recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Arrows had the upper hand in the first quarter of play, scoring the first four buckets of the game to build an early double-digit lead. Haddad finally put the Golden Eagles on the board at the 3:59 mark of the first quarter, taking a pass from Allyson Kirby and laying it in to make it 10-2. Haddad scored a pair of buckets down the stretch to cut the gap down, and Smith scored with 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter to make it 22-8 at the break.
 
The Golden Eagles were able to bring the lead down to 11 points midway through the second quarter, when Alyssa McLellon took a kickout pass from Kirby and drained a three-pointer from the corner to make it a 27-16 game. The Arrows rebounded and made their lead stand up for the rest of the half, though Haddad scored with 47 seconds remaining in the second to make it 34-18.
 
Ursuline's lead breached the 20-point mark late in the third quarter, when Riley Stopp made a free throw to make it 46-26. Lexi Petit scored on a jumper with three seconds remaining to up the lead to 53-31. Clarion got as close at 60-45 in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws from Sierra Bermudez, but the Arrows continued to put points on the board en route to the win.
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