CLARION, Pa. – The Golden Eagle women’s basketball team made their 2020-21 home debut with an offensive clinic on Saturday afternoon, as Clarion shot better than 50 percent from the field in routing D’Youville 75-55 in Tippin Gymnasium.

Four Golden Eagles scored in double-digits while also locking down the visiting Saints on defense. The teams will meet against tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Ke’Airah Massiah tied for the game-high with 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a 10-of-13 mark from the free throw line. The majority of the day’s damage came from the Golden Eagle frontcourt, though, with forwards Devon Adams, Abby Gatesman and Allyson Kirby working efficiently on offense while cleaning the glass on both ends. The trio combined for 36 points and 24 rebounds while the Saints finished with just 28 total rebounds for the entire game.

Clarion shot 53.5 percent from the field as they built a huge early lead over D’Youville, outscoring them by double-digits in both quarters in the first half to take a 44-20 lead. Conversely they held the Saints to just a 31.7 field goal percentage, including just a 7-of-35 (.200) field goal percentage in the first half. Sara Pfeiffer led the way for D’Youville with 18 points on the afternoon.

The Golden Eagles never trailed against the Saints and opened the game on a 7-2 run, with Massiah capping it off with a fast break and-one at the 6:35 mark of the period. Gatesman drained a three-pointer with 3:09 left in the quarter to make it 16-6, her first bucket in what turned out to be a 12-point, eight-rebound effort. Kirby knocked down a trey just before time expired in the first quarter to bump Clarion’s lead back into double-digits, making it 21-10. The second quarter wasn’t much better for the Saints as Neely Whitehead bumped the lead to 16 points with a trey, and Adams made it as many as 19 points with a free throw make at the 3:38 mark. Massiah scored the final four points of the first half as Clarion more that doubled up on D’Youville at the break, building a 44-20 lead heading into the locker room.

D’Youville made a strong effort throughout much of the second half, never cutting the lead down too close but also without letting the gulf expand any further. Clarion did go up by as many as 29 points after a fastbreak jumper from Emily Hegedus, but the Saints shaved 11 points off that deficit by the end of the third quarter. The teams mostly traded baskets in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles sailed to the 20-point victory.