JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team kept things close in the first half, but Clarion was unable to keep up the momentum into the second in falling 68-56 to Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday evening.
 
Autumn Taylor scored a game- and season-high 26 points against the Mountain Cats, going 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range. Taylor also pulled down seven rebounds, while teammate Abby Gatesman had a team-high nine boards herself. Malayziah Etheredge came off the bench for 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, as well as three rebounds and two steals.
 
Things started out well for the Golden Eagles, as Clarion stuck neck-and-neck with the Mountain Cats through the first 15 minutes of action. Abby Gatesman put her team ahead 8-7 with 6:43 left to go in the first quarter, hitting a three-pointer after a feed from Alyssa McLellon. UPJ came back and took the advantage with a 7-3 run, punctuating the rally with a three-pointer from Peyton Alazaus, and a Camille Dominick jumper near the end of the period gave the Mountain Cats a 19-15 advantage.
 
UPJ extended the lead to eight points early in the second quarter, but Malayziah Etheredge cut into that after converting a pass from DayLynn Thornton into a bucket from in close. Autumn Taylor kept it a four-point game with a three-pointer and then worked with Gatesman to pull her side to within two points, dishing to Gatesman for a make to cut the deficit to 26-24. That was the closest things would get in the first half though, as the Mountain Cats stretched the advantage to 37-26 before the halftime break.
 
The Mountain Cats opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run, going ahead 45-26 before Etheredge made a layup to halt the bleeding. Their advantage eventually cracked the 20-point mark, but Taylor brought it back down to a more manageable number with a pull-up jumper at the 6:34 mark.
 
A 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter pulled the game closer than it had been at any point in the second half. The rally started with another trey from Taylor, and Etheredge logged a bucket with the 7:40 mark to cut it down to 56-45. Taylor late made a free throw to bring the deficit back to 10 points but the Mountain Cats recovered from the mini-drought, going on a 10-2 run to stretch the gap.