SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle women's basketball team held a healthy lead midway through the third quarter, but they could not hold off a late push from Slippery Rock as The Rock came back for a 62-60 win at Morrow Field House on Wednesday evening.
 
The game had started as one of the best efforts of the season for the Golden Eagles, who have showed marked improvement over the last week of action. In their road test against the Rock, Clarion led by as many as 10 points, going ahead 39-29 near the midway point of the third quarter. Slippery Rock fought back, though, tying the score early in the fourth quarter and taking a lead with 3:42 left to play.
 
The Rock went on an 8-0 run late in the game, taking a 60-52 lead, but Clarion rallied to force an exciting finish. Sadre'a Rougeau got things going with a three-pointer from the head of the key to cut it to five points, and Autumn Taylor followed on the next possession with a fast break trey of her own. That cut the lead to 60-58 with 22 seconds to play, but Kristina Donza sank a pair of free throws down the stretch to up the lead to four points. Malayziah Etheredge scored on a putback late, but there was not enough time for the Golden Eagles to make up the remainder of the deficit.
 
Rougeau came off the bench for 15 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and making a trio of three-pointers. She also had seven rebounds, tying for the team lead with Etheredge and Hannah Wilkerson.
 
The Golden Eagles had perhaps their best start to a game of the season to date, taking an early lead on Slippery Rock and carrying it throughout the rest of the first half. The Rock took a 10-6 lead midway through the first quarter, but Sadre'a Rougeau kicked off a big run to finish the period with a layup at the 3:29 mark. Clarion got a stop and tied the score on the very next possession, with Malayziah Etheredge scoring from in close to even things up at 10-10.
 
Rougeau struck again with 1:08 to go in the period, draining a three-pointer off a pass from Autumn Taylor to go ahead 13-12. A free throw make by Etheredge with under a minute to play in the first quarter capped an 8-2 run for the Golden Eagles and put them ahead 14-12. Etheredge scored early in the second quarter to put her side ahead 16-14, and the duo of Rougeau and Abby Gatesman made three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to increase the lead to 24-16. Siara Conley scored with 95 seconds left in the first half to make it 28-20, but the Rock were able to cut the lead to five points before the halftime break.
 
The Golden Eagles' biggest lead of the night came midway through the third quarter, when they opened up a double-digit advantage on DayLynn Thornton's three-pointer at the 6:49 mark. That put Clarion ahead 39-29, but the Rock battled back through the rest of the period, closing on a 13-5 run to pull within 44-42. The rally extended to 15-5 in the fourth quarter as they tied the score, but Hannah Wilkerson broke the tie with a layup early in the quarter.