Basketball Recap: Clarion Area Takes a Loss

If Clarion Area was feeling good fresh off their 55-28 takedown of East Forest last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Clarion Area Bobcats lost 66-41 to the Eisenhower Knights on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Bobcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 544th, while the Knights are ranked 255th).

Despite the loss, Clarion Area still got an impressive performance from Marley Kline, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. That's the most boards Kline has posted since back in January of 2024. Natalie Durish was another key player, putting up nine points in addition to six rebounds and three steals.

Eisenhower's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Clara Steinberg, who went 12 for 22 on her way to 26 points along with five assists and five boards. That makes it ten consecutive games in which Steinberg has scored at least a third of Eisenhower's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Lainey Font, who went 9 of 17 en route to 19 points and four steals.

Clarion Area's defeat dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Eisenhower, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season.

Clarion Area wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 51-42 loss against North Clarion on the 15th. As for Eisenhower, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 74-63 victory against Union City on the 13th.