CLARION, Pa. --- Behind a 21-point effort off the bench by Allyson Kirby and a stingy defense throughout, the Golden Eagles women's basketball team rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to beat Pitt-Johnstown 62-55 at Tippin Gym on Tuesday night.
 
Kirby played just 21 minutes off the bench, but made those minutes count by averaging a point per minute played. The forward shot 8-of-15 form the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 21 points. She also added three rebounds and three blocked shots as the Golden Eagle defense put the clamps on the Mountain Cats.
 
Pitt-Johnstown out-rebounded Clarion 43-32, but that number was inflated by the fact that the Golden Eagle defense held the Mountain Cats to just a 32.2 field goal percentage throughout the game. Comparatively, the Golden Eagles shot 25-of-58 (.431) from the field, including a sizzling16-of-30 (.520) in the second half.
 
That strong shooting performance was needed as the Mountain Cats held a narrow advantage at the halftime break, but went on to lead by as many as eight points in the third quarter. UPJ held a 43-38 advantage through three quarters and led 48-41 with 6:53 remaining in regulation, but it was then that the Golden Eagles started their rally. Kirby got things started with a jumper just inside the three-point stripe, and then she converted a pass from Olivia Boocks into a trey that made it just a 48-46 lead.
 
Clarion finally tied things up at the 4:31 mark, after Sierra Bermudez pulled down a defensive board and kicked it ahead to Ava Haddad for a fast break bucket that knotted things up at 48. Kirby drilled a three-pointer at the 3:13 to put the Golden Eagles ahead for the first time since the 5:05 mark of the second quarter, and Charjae Brock put a punctuation mark on the stunning 15-0 run with a transition bucket with 2:47 remaining.
 
Now with the Mountain Cats on their back foot, the Golden Eagles kept up the momentum. Kirby made her fifth three-pointer of the night with 58 seconds left to make it 58-53, and Brock stole the ball from Krista Troyer and took it coast-to-coast for a layup that increased the lead to seven points. All told, the Golden Eagles outscored the Mountain Cats 24-12 in the final period to lock down the win.
 
Haddad was the lead offensive force in the first half, finishing the game with 12 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Jada Smith pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Brock finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, as well as three rebounds and two steals. Clarion committed just 11 turnovers while forcing 16 against the Mountain Cats.
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