ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team returned to the road to start a four-game swing away from Tippin Gym, falling by an 83-60 score to #17/13 Gannon at the Highmark Events Center on Wednesday evening.
 
Neither team fell pray to much sloppy play, as Clarion committed just 11 turnovers on the evening and the Golden Knights just nine. However, the difference in the game was succinctly illustrated in field goal percentage and rebounding; Gannon shot 50.0 percent from the field for the night, including 57 percent in both the first and fourth quarters, while the Golden Eagles shot 36.4 percent. The Golden Knights also out-rebounded Clarion 41-31, including an 11-8 edge in offensive boards.
 
Siara Conley came off the bench for 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, putting up her point total in just 20 minutes of play. Ava Haddad returned to action by coming in as a reserve herself, scoring nine points in 19 minutes. Both Conley and Haddad pulled down four rebounds, while Gloria Bwende recorded a team-high five boards.
 
The Golden Knights got the better of the first quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles by a 28-13 score and building a significant lead at home. Clarion turned the tables in the second quarter, chipping into the Gannon lead and getting it to within 10 points at the halftime break. Conley was the first Golden Eagle to strike in the second, hitting a short jumper through a foul by Delaney Dogan on the team's first possession. She made the subsequent free throw to cut the lead down to 28-16. Haddad made it 30-20 with a make at the 7:26 mark, and Olivia Boocks drilled a midrange jumper with 44 seconds left in the half to keep it a 10-point game.
 
Try as they might, though, the Golden Eagles could not bring the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game. Allyson Kirby scored with 4:18 left in the third quarter to make it 49-37, but the gap between the two sides never got any closer as the nationally-ranked Golden Knights took the win.
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