SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team made it a game with a hot start to the second half, but Clarion ultimately fell in the final game of the 2022 calendar year with a 64-44 loss at Shippensburg on Friday night.
 
Despite being down by a good margin early in the game, the Golden Eagles brought some fight to the middle of the game, reducing what was at one point a 19-point deficit and getting within striking distance with a minute to play in the third quarter. The Raiders' lead was 28-9 roughly four minutes into the second quarter, but Clarion responded with a 13-6 run to close out the half to cut the deficit significantly. Siara Conley contributed nine of those points herself, including an old-fashioned three-point play with 17 seconds left to make it 34-22.
 
Sierra Bermudez came out of the halftime break with four quick points, cutting the lead to 41-30 after a make in the point. Jada Smith contributed a layup at the 5:26 mark of the third to keep it an 11-point game, and Charjae Brock knocked down a jumper at the 2:16 mark to make it 47-36. Despite the Golden Eagles' best efforts, they could not pull any closer than that the rest of the way, as the Raiders finished off the 20-point win.
 
Conley finished the game with nine points off the bench on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, and also pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. Smith also finished with nine points and double-digit rebounds, with the latter pulling down 12 caroms. Bermudez had a team-high 11 points.
 
The Raiders scored the first points of the night, but Ava Haddad tipped in an offensive rebound to keep it a 5-3 contest early. Smith laid one in to make it 7-5 with 6:40 left in the first quarter, and it was a still a two-possession ballgame at the 1:24 mark after Bermudez scored in transition. Shippensburg pushed the lead into double-digits on their final attempt of the period, with Mya Woodyard scoring just before the buzzer to make it 20-9.
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