Women's Basketball | 11/16/2013 8:24:00 PM
Box Score
CLARION, Pa. – Host Clarion shot nearly 70 percent from the floor in the second half – including a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc – to overcome an early 17-point deficit and hand the West Liberty women a 104-88 loss in the final game of the Clarion Classic.
Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (1-3) dominated play in the early going, hitting 6 of their first 7 shots from behind the arc and pulling out to their largest lead – 28-11 – on a Kailee Howe 3-pointer at 10:15 of the first half.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) began to heat up just as West Liberty was cooling down and it proved a lethal combination for the Black and Gold.
West Liberty still led, 39-29, after Kierra Simpson finished off a pretty assist from Liz Flowers with 3:43 left in the half but Clarion reeled off 15 of the next 17 points to take a 44-41 lead at intermission and never looked back.
The Golden Eagles picked up right where they had left off when play resumed, hitting 26-of-38 shots from the floor over the final 20 minutes to blunt any Hilltopper comeback attempts.
Jasmin Kiley led West Liberty with 25 points while Liz Flowers added 19 points, a dozen rebounds and 6 assists. Howe matched Flowers' 19 points and had a team-high 7 assists while Jenn Mohney chipped in with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Clarion had just a 46-42 rebounding advantage but made the most of its opportunities with 24 second-chance points to just 11 for the smaller Hilltoppers. The Golden Eagles also posted a whopping 35-6 edge in points off the bench.
Emma Fickel led all scorers with 27 points for the hosts while Kelly Johnson just missed a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Raven Jones had 12 of her 19 points in the first half.
West Liberty will be idle this week before opening Mountain East Conference play on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at the University of Charleston.
