CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team won their second game in as many days on Monday, cruising past Shepherd to the tune of a 67-48 decision at Tippin Gymnasium.
 
Clarion got out to a smoking hot start against the Rams, outscoring them 44-22 in the first half and carrying that momentum over into the third quarter. It was not until the Golden Eagles had established a 55-26 edge that Shepherd did the majority of their offensive damage, with the Rams scoring nearly as many points in the fourth quarter (22) as they did in the previous three.
 
Defense led the way for the Golden Eagles as Clarion held Shepherd to a 27.9 field goal percentage for the game, a number made more impressive by the fact that the Rams shot better than 57 percent in the fourth quarter. To that point the Golden Eagles had held them to 9-of-33 (.273) from the field. Clarion also limited their turnovers, committing just 14 and forcing 19 against Shepherd.
 
Olivia Boocks broke out with her best offensive game of the season, going 5-of-6 from three-point range in scoring a season-high 17 points. The senior guard also contributed three steals. Sierra Bermudez notched 13 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals while Ava Haddad added 10 points and five rebounds. Jada Smith was a force with a team-high seven rebounds as well as four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
 
Clarion opened the game on a 6-2 run that included two three-pointers from Boocks, and she quickly bumped that lead up to nine points with a midrange jumper that made it 14-5. Boocks had another trey up her sleeve, hitting from distance to make it a 17-7 Golden Eagle lead with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Smith nailed one of her own at the 2:04 mark to make it 22-10, and Boocks added a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the quarter to make it 25-10.
 
Not content to sit on that lead so early, the Golden Eagles continued to push in the second quarter. Allyson Kirby made a three-pointer at the 8:17 mark to give Clarion a 30-10 advantage, capping what had been an 11-0 Golden Eagle run. Bermudez hit one from the deep corner at the 1:47 mark to make it 39-19, and Siara Conley wrapped the first half scoring for the Golden Eagles with a layup at the 47-second mark. With a 22-point lead entering halftime, Clarion shut down the Ram offense in the third quarter by holding them to a paltry four points. The lead reached 30 points by the end of the period after Bermudez stole the ball from Meghan Shipley, and then took a lead pass from Abby Gatesman for a fast break bucket at the 1:42 mark.
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