CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Pitt-Johnstown in the first half and in the fourth quarter, but the third quarter proved to be the difference as the Mountain Cats defeated Clarion 71-61 at Tippin Gymnasium.
 
Clarion honored their seniors in a pregame ceremony, and the team came out with fire in the first half as they pushed the tempo on the Mountain Cats. Jada Smith finished with a double-double, coming off the bench for 15 points and a game-high 11 boards in just 25 minutes of action. Allyson Kirby also came off the bench and provided a spark, scoring 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
 
The teams were relatively even in terms of turnovers, with Clarion committing 20 on the afternoon and Pitt-Johnstown 15, but the difference came in taking advantage of those opportunities. The Mountain Cats scored 26 points off turnovers, compared to just 13 for the Golden Eagles.
 
Pitt-Johnstown scored the first seven points of the game but the Golden Eagles outpaced them 11-7 for the remainder of the period, pulling to within one possession after 10 minutes. Smith took advantage of a blocked shot by Charjae Brock and took it the length of the court for a layup at the 3:20 mark, cutting it to 8-5, and the duo of Kirby and Sierra Bermudez made three-pointers on back-to-back offensive possessions to slice the lead to 12-11.
 
Clarion took the lead in the second quarter, starting with Cory Santoro's layup at the 7:54 mark to make it 15-14. Santoro added a pair of free throws 45 seconds later to make it a 17-14 lead, and the lead got as big as four points, after Bermudez took a pass from Smith and converted it into a three-pointer at the 4:05 mark. That put the Golden Eagles ahead 27-23, but the teams ended up even at the halftime break, with Emily Hegedus making it 31-31 with two free throws late.
 
The Mountain Cats put the clamps on defensively in the third quarter, scoring six of the first nine points to take a 37-34 lead. They followed that up with a 17-6 run that put them ahead 54-40 after 30 minutes of play. The Golden Eagles whittled the lead down to eight points with 1:42 remaining, after Santoro made a fast break three-pointer to make it 67-59. Smith scored again with 34 seconds left to make it 71-61 as the Mountain Cats dribbled out the clock.
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