Clarion rallies past West Chester 70-68
Golden Eagles nearly perfect from the free-throw line
CLARION – The Clarion University women’s basketball team overcame a 5-point deficit in the final 5:30 to get a 70-68 win over visiting West Chester in PSAC women’s crossover basketball action Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles (10-4) trailed 63-58 with 5:25 left but thanks to excellent free-throw shooting ended the game on a 12-5 run. Clarion was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line during the spurt and finished the game hitting 24 of 25 free throws including its last 23.
Jessica Albanese’s two charity shots with 2:22 left gave Clarion the lead for good at 68-66, and Sara Pratt blocked a 15-foot jumper by West Chester’s Megan Stewart as time expired to seal the win.
Albanese led Clarion with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Katrina Greer added 15 points. Pratt chipped in with eight points,11 boards and three blocks, My’Kea Cohill had eight points and three steals and Ashley Grimm added seven points, six assists and two steals. Janelle Zabresky also had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks off the bench.
West Chester (8-6) had four players in double digits led by 12 points, seven rebounds from Dana Weems, 12 points, four steals from Stewart, 11 points from Mary Kate Serratelli and 10 from Natalie Winters. Janelle Garber added nine tallies, five blocks and four steals.
Both teams start conference play in their next games with Clarion traveling to IUP for a 5:30 p.m. start Wednesday and West Chester hosting Kutztown at 1 p.m. Saturday.
NOTES – Clarion is shooting 77.4 percent from the free-throw line this season … Pratt now has 36 blocked shots, while Zabresky has 26. Pratt’s 36 rejections already ranks seventh in a season in school history, and she has a shot at becoming the first Golden Eagle to 50 blocks since Carlita Jones set the school record with 93 in 1993-94 … Grimm, who set the school record for assists last week, is four helpers shy of becoming the first player in school history with 500 in her career … Greer needs three more points to reach 850 in her career, while Albanese now has 1,078 career points, the seventh-best mark in Clarion history. Albanese also has 585 career rebounds and needs 15 rebounds and 22 points to become the sixth player in school history with 1,100 career tallies and 600 career rebounds. … Clarion finished PSAC crossover play 6-1 and is now 7-1 at Tippin Gym … Clarion’s 10 wins are one more than last season.