Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Four West Chester players scored in double figures, but it was not enough to win as visiting Clarion University handed the Golden Rams their first loss of the season in an 83-80 overtime thriller inside Hollinger Field House on Friday evening.
Renata Neal posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Rams (7-1). However, Clarion (4-2) came out on top despite shooting just 47 percent from the free throw line. The loss was the first on the season for WCU, who is off to its best start since the 2001 season, when the team started the year with 10 straight victories before falling to Clarion that year as well.
Neal sank a layup with 28 seconds remaining to put the Golden Rams ahead by two (70-68), but Clarion’s Rachel Graeff drove for a layup with just eight seconds left on the clock to knot things up once again. Allison Hostetter (16 points) missed a running jumper in the lane at the buzzer of regulation.
Clarion came out in overtime on fire from 3-point range, draining three baskets from downtown, surrounding a WCU layup that pushed the Golden Eagles’ lead to seven (79-72). The Eagles shot 41.2 percent from beyond the arc (10 of 21) in the contest. West Chester trimmed the lead to two but could get no closer as a last-second three-point attempt by Jill Keefer fell off the mark.
Clarion jumped out to an early lead (11-4) behind six points by Lizzie Suwala. West Chester fired back however, reeling off a 19-6 run behind three straight baskets by Allison Hostetter.
Clarion responded to retake the lead with 6:11 remaining in the first half (25-24) and extended its cushion to seven (34-27) before the Golden Rams rattled off nine straight points to hold a two point halftime advantage, 36-34.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle between the two evenly matched squads. The second half included 11 ties and six lead changes.
Janelle Garber (13 points, 7 rebounds), and Keefer (15 points, 6 steals) joined Neal in double-figures for West Chester.
Lizzie Suwala led all scorers with 22 points for Clarion. Beth Koch scored 16 points while Sara Pratt recorded a double-double of her own with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Rams next game comes on December 21 on the road against Wilmington.
