ERIE, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team erased a 15-point halftime deficit on the road, stunning Mercyhurst as Clarion defeated the Lakers 74-69 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Chipping away at the sizable deficit was a slow and steady process, but one that paid dividends as the Golden Eagles took the lead early in the fourth quarter. After Abby Gatesman pulled the team to within one point with a midrange jumper in the paint, Jada Smith stole the ball from Jayde Boyd and dished ahead to Sierra Bermudez, who drew a foul from Boyd on the recovery. Bermudez sank both free throws to put the Golden Eagles ahead 52-51, their first lead of the game.
 
Bermudez drained a three-pointer at the 8:14 mark to cap Clarion's 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter, prompting the Lakers into calling a timeout as the Golden Eagles took a 56-51 advantage. Mercyhurst re-took the advantage and went up 63-61 with four minutes remaining after a layup from Danielle Grim, but Charjae Brock scored on the subsequent trip down the court to tie it up. Bermudez put in the dagger with 34 seconds remaining, hitting a three-pointer to put her team up 70-65. Clarion hit their free throws down the stretch to halt the Mercyhurst comeback, finishing off their own with a make from Allyson Kirby.
 
Bermudez finished with a team-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while Jada Smith recorded 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Kirby scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting whiel also adding eight boards.
 
The Lakers shot out the lights in the first half, going 16-of-31 as they built a big lead on the Golden Eagles. Lexi Wagner made it 11-6 at the 5:04 mark of the first quarter, and Mercyhurst led by eight points after a three-pointer from Julia Buchman. Buchman scored to put Mercyhurst ahead 30-20 at the 5:46 mark of the second quarter, and Grace Centrulla closed out the half with a midrange jumper that set the deficit at 39-24.
 
The lead went as high as 18 points early in the third quarter, but Clarion started working their way back and got it down to a manageable number. Bermudez and Brock scored on consecutive possessions midway through the period to make it just 44-34, and Gatesman drew her team to within single digits with a jumper at the 4:02 mark. With 2:42 remaining, Bermudez scored a pair of free throws to cut it to 44-42. The Lakers kept the Golden Eagles at arm's length for the rest of the quarter but the rally was on as Clarion erased the remainder in the final frame.
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