BLUEFIELD, W.Va. --- Hannah Wilkerson scored as time expired, punctuating an exciting second half between Clarion and Livingstone as the Golden Eagles beat the Blue Bears 72-71 at Bluefield State's Ned Shott Gymnasium. Clarion rode a hot third quarter to a big lead but needed a last-second shot to finish things off.
 
The Golden Eagles built themselves a 10-point advantage over the course of the third quarter, with the double-digit lead the fruit of them outscoring the Big Blue 29-18 over the course of 10 minutes. Livingstone wiped out that lead over the course of the fourth quarter, though, chipping away over time and eventually going up 71-70 with five seconds remaining, after Rachael Cherrington made the first of two free throws. She missed the second, though, and Alyssa Terza grabbed the rebound and enabled her team to call timeout.
 
With time for just one more play, Hannah Wilkerson went to the paint and laid it in, scoring just before the buzzer to give the Golden Eagles a 72-71 victory. Wilkerson had a blowup effort off the bench, scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also recording six rebounds and three assists.
 
The teams traded turns being in control in the first half, with the Blue Bears going on a 10-6 run in the final five minutes of the first quarter to take an 18-13 lead. Their lead was as great as nine points in the period, but Wilkerson drained a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Autumn Taylor got the scoring going in the second quarter, scoring the first four points of the period, and Claire Noble briefly put her team ahead 19-18 with a tip-in.
 
Livingstone held a six-point lead with under two minutes to go in the first half, but Clarion closed the half on a 5-0 run to cut it to one point at the break. Taylor made another couple of free throws in the final minute, and the Golden Eagles trailed 30-29 at the half. The Golden Eagles' outburst in the third quarter put them ahead by double digits, with the majority of that damage coming in the final seven minutes. Taylor made a three-pointer at the 6:16 mark to cut the deficit ot 40-37, and then the sophomore added another trey to tie the score. She wrapped up the personal 8-0 run with a layup at the 4:49 mark, putting the Golden Eagles up 42-40.
 
The run continued for the remainder of the third quarter, with Noble's three-pointer at the 3:12 mark making it a 50-40 advantage. Taylor made it 58-48 late in the third, scoring to make it 58-48. Taylor scored a team-high 21 points, including a 3-of-6 mark from three-point range.
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