LOCK HAVEN - Through 14 minutes of Wednesday's game against Clarion, Lock Haven held a 17-point lead and the Lady Eagles appeared ready to pick up a PSAC-West victory.
But the walls started to crumble and Clarion overcame two huge deficits to win 87-77 at Thomas Field House.
"I don't think our problem is fatigue," Lock Haven coach Jennifer Smith said. "I think it is more mental than anything because we are playing hard enough. We aren't focusing on the game, and would it help if J. J. Hilliard wasn't out with an injury? Yes it would, but we still have the legs so I think it is more mental than a physical problem."
The Lady Eagles (7-17, 4-16 PSAC-West) came out soaring at the opening tip and built a 31-21 lead midway through the first half.
Leading the way for Lock Haven during the stretch that included a 13-2 run were Emily Daugherty and Sami Lane. Daugherty scored 14 points - 12 coming off four 3-pointers - and Lane eight points.
"We started great, but we just couldn't put anything together in the second half," Smith said.
The Golden Eagles (13-13, 9-11) cut their deficit to 41-34 by the half.
"For us tonight, it was the same old story, different day," Smith said. "We just have to focus more, play harder and learn how to finish games."
The Lady Golden Eagles scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half to tie the game at 43.
Lock Haven built a 57-50 lead nine minutes into the second half, but Clarion took their first lead (63-62) on a conventional 3-point play by Lauren Savulchak.
Clarion stretched its lead to 12 points before winning by 10.
Daugherty and Lane led Lock Haven with 19 points apiece. Marrysa Moyer had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Raven Jones paced Clarion with 31 points. Hannah Heeter added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
CLARION (13-13, 9-11 PSAC)
JONES, Raven 13-17 2-2 31; SAVULCHAK, Lauren 2-3 11-13 15; HEETER, Hannah 2-6 10-12 14; BOYD, Jasmine 2-3 5-7 9; CRAWFORD, Leisha 3-8 2-2 8; MILLER, Aleya 2-2 0-0 4; GADOR, Mariah 1-7 0-0 3; MILOSER, Nicole 1-3 0-0 3; DEIBERT, Ann 0-2 0-0 0; FICKEL, Emma 0-4 0-0 0; HOLMES, Tania 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 30-36 87.
LOCK HAVEN (7-17, 4-16 PSAC)
DAUGHERTY, Emily 7-12 2-2 19; LANE, Sami 9-20 1-2 19; MOYER, Marrysa 3-16 11-12 17; RYAN, Kelsey 2-8 3-6 7; HERSHEY, Kacie 3-5 0-0 6; MORALES, Brianna 2-6 0-0 6; BAIR, Kristi 1-2 1-1 3; GILDEA, Hannah 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 27-76 18-23 77.
Halftime: LHU, 41-34. 3-point goals--Clarion 5-11 (JONES, 3-4; GADOR, 1-1; MILOSER, 1-1; BOYD, 0-1; CRAWFORD, 0-2; FICKEL, 0-2), Lock Haven 5-23 (DAUGHERTY, 3-8; MORALES, 2-5; MOYER, 0-3; RYAN, 0-2; GILDEA, 0-4; LANE, 0-1). Fouled out- HEETER, HERSHEY, DAUGHERTY, RYAN. Rebounds--Clarion 42 (HEETER, 15), Lock Haven 40 (RYAN, 11). Assists--Clarion 13 (SAVULCHAK, 3), Lock Haven 11 (RYAN, 4). Total fouls--Clarion 18, Lock Haven 25. Technical fouls---None. A-189
