CLARION, Pa. --- A 12-point halftime deficit swung more than 30 points in the other direction as the Golden Eagles women's basketball team beat Slippery Rock 92-72 in Tippin Gym on Saturday afternoon. Clarion dominated action in the second half, outscoring The Rock 61-29 in the third and fourth quarters.
 
The change of momentum was nothing short of remarkable, as the Golden Eagles bounced back from a slow start to beat The Rock at home. After making just 8-of-30 (.267) of their shots from the field in the first half Clarion caught fire in the second, going 23-of-41 (.561) overall and 7-of-14 (.500) from three-point range.
 
Defense sparked the comeback, with the Golden Eagles showing an increased intensity coming out of the halftime break. Clarion forced 16 of Slippery Rock's 22 turnovers in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter alone. That led to a 25-14 edge in points off turnovers for the Golden Eagles, who outscored the Rock 30-9 in that period and held them to just two made field goals.
 
Alyssa Terza exploded for her best game of the season, going 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc for a game- and season-high 20 points. Scoring was balanced for Clarion as five players cracked double-digits, including two bench players; in addition to Terza, DayLynn Thornton came off the bench for 11 points. Arianna Seitz added 16 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Malayziah Etheredge had 10 points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.
 
The Rock painted a very different picture in the first half as they got out to a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. They led by as many as nine points in that quarter, with Kayley Joseph-Bernard scoring just before the end of the quarter. The lead expanded to 12 points just before the end of the half after Endya Robinson finished off an old-fashioned three-point play, scoring through a foul by Terza and then sinking a free throw to make it 43-31.
 
The defense got to work out of the break, though, and helped to drive the Clarion effort. Zoe Guice scored on the opening possession of the half and Seitz followed by stealing the inbounds pass and laying it in, cutting the deficit to 43-35. Slippery Rock went 3:31 to start the third quarter with just a single made free throw to show for it. Terza and Etheredge made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to one point, and Seitz eventually put the Golden Eagles on top with a free throw.
 
It was there that the game turned from a tight back-and-forth contest into a runaway. Guice scored two quick buckets on the fast break, and Thornton capped off an and-one at the 3:07 mark of the third quarter to give Clarion a 55-47 edge. Seitz did the same with under two minutes to go in the period to make it a 12-point game. Etheredge opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and Seitz drained a trey at the 6:42 mark to make it 70-57. The lead continued to expand and reached its high water mark with just under a minute to go when Dominika Logue scored on the fast break to make it 90-67.
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