The Clarion Golden Eagles women’s basketball team fell to Edinboro University last Saturday night, ending their hopes of a playoff spot.

With that hope within their grasp, Clarion rallied in the second half, but fell short of Edinboro 78-66 at McComb Fieldhouse in Edinboro.

Going into the game 5-8 in the PSAC West, the Eagles needed a win to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot for the PSAC-West.

Right from the start, the battle was intense as Clarion knew this game would make or break their playoff hopes.

A win would mean they overcame numerous obstacles and injuries, which plagued the Lady Eagle’s season.

Both teams jumped out of the gates quickly, knowing this wouldn’t be an easy victory. For most of the first half, the Lady Eagles would lead, but eventually Edinboro would prove to be too much.

Thirteen minutes into the game, the score was tied up at 19. With 1:25 to play in the first half, Edinboro would re-tie the score at 30.

Edinboro went into the locker room at the half, up 35-31. Clarion was able to tie it up again at 48 with a little over 12 minutes to go in the game. However, this would be the closest the Lady Eagles would get to the Fighting Scots.

Clarion struggled from behind the arc, missing all three pointers, which has been one of the team’s strengths in the Golden Eagle’s offense during previous games.

Janelle Zabresky led the Lady Eagles with 19 points as Bethany Koch and Rachel Graeff followed with 13 each.

In an interview with Coach Gie Parsons, she said that the team played its heart out.
“The team had a lot of unfortunate injuries this season,” Parsons said.

Despite the injuries, the team still had an opportunity to make playoffs. In preparation for next year, Parsons said she wants to come back and work on a lot of the fundamentals and things that win big ball games.

With three players red shirting, the team will have a lot of really good players for their return next season. Goals are to get everyone healthy and back to full strength.

In an interview with senior Bethany Koch, she said she felt as though the team never reached its full potential this year.

Koch commented that in the off-season, the team “needs to improve on the little parts of the game and get all players and everyone on the same page.”

As she graduates this year, she said she looks forward to graduation and possibly getting into some coaching.