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CLARION CAN’T MASTER HAMMER HALL LOSE 10^TH STRAIGHT AT CAL

    CALIFORNIA – California’s Hamer Hall has been a difficult place for the Clarion University women’s basketball team the last decade.

And those difficulties continued Saturday evening for the Golden Eagles, as Cal used a 19-12 run over the final five minutes to erase a 1-point deficit and get a 67-61 win in a key PSAC-West contest. Clarion has now lost 10 straight game at Hamer Hall since a 60-58 win in 1998.

    Clarion (7-14 overall, 2-5 PSAC-West) used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to erase an 11-point deficit and take a 49-48 lead with 5:54 to play.

    But Cal (14-7, 4-3) had the answer in the form of back-to-back baskets by Amanda Evans in an three-second span immediately following a missed open lay-up by Clarion’s Jessica Albanese that would have extended the Clarion run to 14-0 while giving the Eagles a three-point lead with just over five to play.

    Evan’s baskets started a 6-0 run for Cal that gave the Vulcans a 54-49 lead with 4:12 left to play.

    Clarion cut the lead back to a point – 54-53 – on an April Gratton free-throw and an old-fashion three-point play by Katrina Greer with 3:21 left.

    Cal went back up by six thanks to five straight points from Lindsay Johnson before a Greer three made it 59-56 with 1:23 left.

    But a bad break followed for Clarion when Cal’s Brooque Williams missed a shot with 1:08 to play and Albanese pulled down the rebound. The junior from Kentucky appeared to have complete control of the ball, but the officials called a jump ball giving Cal the ball back. The Vulcans then ran nearly the full 30 seconds off the play clock before Johnson scored on a cutting play to give Cal a 61-56 lead with 42 seconds left.

    Clarion got one final breath of life when Ashley Grimm nailed a three-pointer with 27.3 seconds to play after Katrina Greer grabbed an offensive rebound off the second of two missed free throws by Albanese. Grimm’s triple cut the Cal lead to 61-59.

    Following a Clarion time-out, Cal inbounded the ball and the ball got loose before Clarion was whistled for its sixth team foul with 23 seconds left. Cal then got the ball inbounds to Keris Timol, a 66.7 percent free-throw shooter. But before Clarion could foul Timol, she got the ball to Bre Dillon, an 83.8 percent shooter who was fouled. Dillon then hit two free throws to basically seal the victory.  

    Cal actually led by 13 – 40-27 – three-plus minutes into the second half after starting the half on an 11-4 run. But Clarion cut that lead to 40-37 before Cal used a 9-0 run to take the 48-37 lead.

    The Vulcans stared the game on fire scoring 21 of the first 27 points to build a 21-6 lead 10:30 into the game.

    But Clarion regained its footing with a 12-0 run to pull within three points – 21-18 – with 6:05 left before Cal took a 29-25 halftime lead.

    Greer paced Clarion with 16 points including three triples. She scored 11 in the second half. Grimm added 12 points an eight assists and now has 360 career assists. Albanese chipped in with 12 points.

    Johnson led Cal with 23 points, while Dillon had 12 and Williams 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

    Clarion returns to action Wednesday at IUP. Tip is 5:30 p.m. and the game can be heard locally on 91.7 FM and on the Internet at www.redzonemedia.com.