GREENSBURG, Pa. --- A major push in the third quarter did not carry over into the fourth, as the Golden Eagle women's basketball team fell by a 66-49 score on the road at Seton Hill on Saturday afternoon.
 
Clarion trailed by 15 points at the halftime break but meticulously chipped away at that lead to start the second half, outscoring the Griffins by eight points in the third quarter to pull within just a few possessions of their host. Seton Hill responded with a run of their own in the fourth quarter, quashing the Golden Eagle rally as they held on for the win.
 
Jada Smith started things up in the third quarter, scoring after Charjae Brock pulled down an offensive board and dished it over for the bucket. Smith scored on the following possession as well, with Sierra Bermudez taking the ball away from Courtney Tomas to spark a transition bucket for the Golden Eagles.
 
That said, Seton Hill kept the advantage in double-digits for much of the third quarter, though Clarion closed the period on an 8-1 run to cut it to single digits. Smith scored at the 3:01 mark to make it 46-38, making a bucket through contact from Corinne Eisner to force an old-fashioned three-point play. Smith finished it off with a free throw make to pull the Golden Eagles to within 46-39.  The chasm was still just seven points at the end of the third, as Allyson Kirby sank a free throw to make it 47-40.
 
The Griffins responded with 11 straight points to start the fourth quarter, though, turning that seven-point lead into an 18-point one. That run proved to be the difference as the Griffins finished off the game.
 
Smith finished the game with a team-high nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and also recorded a team-high nine rebounds. Bermudez and Olivia Boocks each finished with eight points, while Siara Conley came off the bench for seven points.
 
Seton Hill shot off to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, with Hallie Cowan hitting a three-pointer at the 4:01 mark. The lead grew as large as 12 points in the first quarter, though Gloria Bwende did pull her team to within 21-13 after a jumper with 17 second remaining. The teams were fairly even in the second quarter, with the Griffins carrying a 38-23 lead into the halftime break.
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