INDIANA, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team made a characteristic push coming out of the locker room as halftime, but Clarion was too far back to mount an effective comeback in falling 76-53 to IUP at the Kovalchick Center on Wednesday night.
 
As has been the case for much of the season, the Golden Eagles' push out of halftime resulted in them significantly closing the gap with the Crimson Hawks. In this instance, Clarion rallied from a 16-point deficit at the break to cut the lead down to single digits, trailing by just nine points with under 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It seemed the Golden Eagles had seized the momentum, but the Crimson Hawks scored six points down the stretch in that period to toss cold water on the Clarion rally.
 
Sierra Bermudez notched a team-high 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting, and was the only Golden Eagle to breach double-digits in scoring. Ava Haddad continued her effective freshman campaign with eight points , while Allyson Kirby, Olivia Boocks and Siara Conley all recorded seven points apiece. Kirby also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and recorded three steals.
 
The Golden Eagles were much more efficient offensively in the second half than they were in the first, going 9-of 18 (.500) from the field in the final 20 minutes of action. By comparison, Clarion shot just 9-of-27 (.333) in the first two periods of play. That was best reflected in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles outscored the Crimson Hawks and cut down what had been a commanding lead. Haddad scored two minutes into the period to make it a 41-28 game, and Boocks sank a pair of free throws two minutes later to pull the team within 43-33. Siara Conley kept it a 10-point game with a make at the 3:26 mark, and Bermudez drew the lead to just 49-40 with a three-pointer with 1:48 remaining in the third.
 
Jada Smith kept it a single-digit game with a fast break jumper in the paint, scoring to make it 51-42, but the Crimson Hawks scored six straight points to end the third quarter and halt the Golden Eagle momentum. Kiera Baughman opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to bump the lead to 18 points, and IUP built a healthy lead that held up the rest of the way.
 
The Crimson Hawks opened the game on a 7-2 run that Clarion eventually cut to just an 11-7 lead, after Hadded scored with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Kirby made a pair of free throws with less than a minute left in the first to make it 14-9, but IUP put the lead into double-digits in the second quarter.
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