CLARION, Pa. – Clarion controlled the game from start to finish on Thursday night, powering past Ohio Dominican for a 77–57 victory in Tippin Gymnasium.
"I thought we played well, and we took control immediately from the jump," Coach
Danielle Fleming said. "It was a very balanced effort on everyone's part."
The Golden Eagles continued their trend of fast starts, opening the game on an 8–0 run fueled by early buckets from
Madison Palek and
Niah Smedley. Defensively, Clarion set the tone, with
Kendall Berger and
Zoe Guice each coming up with a steal in the opening minutes. Ohio Dominican responded with a brief run of its own, but Zoé Bayer halted the momentum with a corner three. Clarion finished the quarter with back-to-back triples to take a 22–10 lead.
Carrying their energy into the second quarter, the Golden Eagles attacked inside with finishes from Palek and
Dominika Logue. Ohio Dominican continued to struggle offensively, shooting just 16% midway through the period due to Clarion's defensive pressure. Berger pushed the lead to 33–12 at the media timeout, and
Claire Noble closed the half strong by knocking down two three-pointers to give Clarion a 45–29 lead at the break.
Ohio Dominican opened the third quarter with renewed intensity, scoring seven of the first 10 points. Clarion steadied the pace when
Alyssa Terza drilled a wing three, and momentum soon swung back toward the Golden Eagles as Berger and Palek sparked the scoring. Despite a brief scoring drought late in the quarter, Clarion held a firm 57–42 advantage entering the fourth.
Clarion again came out strong to start the final frame, with Smedley and Berger scoring both inside and from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 67–45. The Golden Eagles continued to apply pressure and maintained control throughout the quarter. Both teams slowed offensively late, but the outcome was never in doubt as Clarion secured the 77–57 victory.
After the game, Berger emphasized how the defense fuels their transition play.
"Looking for the open man, keeping our heads up and trying to push the ball up," Berger said. "We like to play fast. So when we get a turnover, capitalizing is pushing the ball up and taking advantage of the turnovers."
Berger led Clarion with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Guice added 12. Palek and Smedley each contributed 10 points, helping the Golden Eagles produce a balanced performance that featured 25 bench points and a 47% mark from three-point range.
Clarion returns home on Saturday to host Lake Erie, with tipoff set for 1 p.m.
