CLARION, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team's fourth quarter comeback attempt fell short as Clarion took home a, 72-67, victory Wednesday night at Tippin Gymnasium.

With the loss, Slippery Rock fell to 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division, while Clarion's record improved to 9-4 overall and 4-3 in the PSAC West with the win.

Kayley Joseph-Bernard led Slippery Rock with a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Alyssa Gillin, followed Joseph-Bernard with 16 points, two rebounds and one assist. Joseph-Bernard and Gillin combined to shoot 15-of -29 from the floor overall.

Iyanna Wade and Karianna Woods both reached double-digits in scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Wade facilitated SRU's offense with a game-high six assists, as well as five rebounds and two steals. Woods added one rebound, assist and steal to the scoresheet as well.

Sophia Hook rounded out The Rock's starters with six points and a game-high nine rebounds. Hook also contributed one assist and one steal.

Off the bench, Sarah Chawki played a career-high eight minutes and put in two points, two steals and one rebound. Mairan Haggerty rounded out SRU's scorers with two points of her own. Deryn Moye, Jorja Bernesser and Hannah Pugliese combined for four rebounds, one assist and one steal as Slippery Rock's reserves.

The first quarter featured fast paced basketball as each team attempted to push the pace as SRU and Clarion combined for 25 shots attempted before the first media timeout, where Clarion held a 12-10 lead. The two teams then combined to make five of their next 10 shots as the Golden Eagles finished the quarter with a 19-18 advantage.

The Rock battled to a 34-34 score with 1:27 left in the half, before Clarion's Zoe Guice made a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the second quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 37-35 lead entering halftime.

Slippery Rock's defense came out strong in the third quarter as it held Clarion to two points in the first four minutes of the frame, which enabled SRU to take a 41-39 lead. Alyssa Terza briefly re-gained the Golden Eagles' advantage with a long-range make, before Joseph-Bernard countered with two triples of her own. Clarion then ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 50-47 lead into the final frame.

The Golden Eagles continued their run to start the fourth quarter as they pushed their lead to 61-50, completing a 19-3 run, starting at the 2:55 mark of the third quarter. The Rock responded with a quick 9-3 stretch, cutting Clarion's lead to just four, 63-59, with 5:08 left to play.

While playing the foul game, Slippery Rock cut Clarion's lead to three, 70-67, but was unable to pull the gap any closer as the Golden Eagles' finished out a 72-67 victory.

Slippery Rock ended the game shooting 38.6 percent (27-of-70) from the field overall, 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from the 3-point line and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the charity stripe. 

Coming into the game, the Golden Eagles forced the 13^th most turnovers in the nation with 24.5 forced tpg, but SRU took care of the ball and only committed 13 turnovers.

Clarion owned the paint with a 42-30 advantage down low, but SRU found a slight edge in points off turnovers, 16-12.

Defensively, SRU limited Clarion to 42.6 percent (26-of-61) shooting from the floor overall, 26.7 percent (4-for-15) from beyond the arc and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the foul line.

Guice and Terza combined for 49 of Clarion's 72 points, which is 68.1 percent of the Golden Eagles' offense. Guice added eight rebounds and five assists, while Terza grabbed five rebounds, dished out one assist and blocked one shot.

Slippery Rock finishes its two-game road trip 1 p.m. Saturday at Pitt-Johnstown. Last season, The Rock and the Mountain Cats spit a pair of games, with each team claiming a home victory.



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