GRIMM’S FREE THROW LIFTS CLARION TO 66-65 WIN OVER LAKE ERIE
CLARION – Senior point guard Ashley Grimm hit one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to rally Clarion University to a 66-65 win over visiting Lake Erie Saturday afternoon at Clarion High School.
Lake Erie had a final chance to win the game, but Angela Bethel’s 15-foot jumper from the baseline was long.
Grimm’s free throw, which came on the back-end of a two-shot foul, capped a Clarion comeback that saw the Golden Eagles (6-1) erase a 5-point deficit in the final 41.4 seconds.
Lake Erie (3-6) led 65-60 after Jalisa Mitchell hit one of two free throws with 51.5 seconds to play.
Katrina Greer started Clarion comeback when she was fouled trying a 3-pointer with 41.4 seconds left and hit all three charity shots brining the Golden Eagles back to within two points at 65-63.
Renese Ames, who scored a game-high 25 points for Lake Erie, then missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 35.7 seconds left – missed free throws haunted Lake Erie with the Storm going 7 of 20 in the game – and Clarion tied the game on a Sara Pratt offensive rebound and putback of her own missed shot with 28.1 seconds remaining. Pratt was fouled on the made basket by Ames, but the sophomore missed the free throw leaving the game tied at 65.
Ames then had a chance to put Lake Erie in front but missed a jumper with 11.2 seconds left with Pratt getting the rebound. Pratt got the ball to Grimm, who was fouled in the backcourt by Mitchell.
After Grimm, who missed a triple-double by one assists (she had 10 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) missed the first free throw, she nailed the second one (Clarion was in the double bonus). But Lake Erie got the ball up court in a hurry, and Bethel had the open look from the left baseline that was missed.
Clarion trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before getting to within five, 38-33, at halftime on a Shaina Smith 3-pointer in the final minute of the half.
The Golden Eagles then started the second half on a 13-2 run to take a 46-40 lead on two free throws by My’Kea Cohill with 14:24 left.
Clarion still led by six, 48-42, with 13:47 to play but Lake Erie went on a 10-1 run to take a 52-49 lead on a Mitchell jumper with 7:48 to play.
The Golden Eagles rallied tying the score a couple of times including 60-all on a Greer layup with 3:02 left.
Jumpers by Ames and Alyssa Wagers and a free-throw by Mitchell gave the Storm the 5-point lead in the final minute.
Albanese led Clarion in scoring with 18 points while adding nine rebounds. Greer had 13 points, Cohill 11 tallies and seven boards and Pratt four points, eight blocked shots and 11 rebounds.
Wager had a double-double for Lake Erie with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Mitchell added 12 points, five assists and six rebounds.
Clarion returns to action Tuesday at Cheyney (1 p.m.). Lake Erie is back in action Dec. 29 when it hosts Hiram at 2 p.m.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – Pratt now has 23 blocked shots on the
season, which puts her two shy from entering the Top 10 in a single season at
Clarion … With the 18 points, Albanese now has 987 career points and is 13 shy
of becoming the 13th player in school history with 1,000 … Grimm’s
nine assists gives her 449 in her career, 21 shy of the school record.