SECOND HALF RUNS LIFTS CLARION PAST CHEYNEY
Golden Eagles move to 7-1 with 81-67 win
CHEYNEY – Trailing by one with 7:35 left, the Clarion University women’s basketball team turned to junior guard Katrina Greer, who scored nine straight points lifting the visiting Golden Eagles to an 81-67 win over Cheyney Tuesday afternoon.
Clarion (7-1), which is off to its best start since going 8-1 in 2004-05, trailed by one, 60-59, with 7:35 left. But two Greer free throws at the 5:34 mark gave Clarion the lead for good, and the senior from Centre Hall then hit a jumper, made a lay-up and then nailed a 3-pointer giving Clarion a 68-61 lead with 2:33 left. A jumper by Jessica Albanese extended the run to 11-1 and the lead to 70-61, and Clarion hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:02 to seal the victory.
Greer led Clarion with 22 points, while My’Kea Cohill added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Grimm added 12 points, seven assists and three steals, and Albanese ended with six points and six rebounds giving her 993 career points. Janelle Zabresky chipped in with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench, and Sara Pratt had seven points and six rebounds despite playing just 22 minutes because of foul trouble.
Danielle Jones led Cheyney (1-5) with 14 points, while Angel Stephens had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Lillian Penn added 11 points and five boards.
Clarion trailed 38-33 at halftime but outscored Cheyney 81-67 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles return to action Jan. 2-3 at the Fairmont State Classic. Clarion faces Concord at 4 p.m. Jan. 2 and Fairmont State at 3 p.m. Jan. 3
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – With 7 more points, Albanese will become the 13th player in school history with 1,000 in a career … Grimm now has 456 assists and needs 14 to tie Shelly Respecki’s school record of 470 set in just two seasons … The .875 winning percentage before Jan. 1 is Clarion’s best winning percentage before the New Year since going 9-1 (.900) in 1993-94 … Clarion’s school record for best start to a season was in 1991-92 when the Golden Eagles started 18-0.