Daytona Beach, FL – Despite a strong run at the start of the second half, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team was unable to overcome an early deficit, falling 57-44 against Kalamazoo College on Thursday afternoon at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.

The Golden Knights saw their season mark fall to 2-7, while Kalamazoo improved to 3-9. Clarkson faces Amherst College on Saturday afternoon.

A pair of early 3-pointers put the Golden Knights in an early hole, as Sara English of Kalamazoo got off to a hot start with three long-range shots in the first two minutes. The Clarkson defense would then hold the Hornets without a basket for nearly five minutes, but the team had some trouble at the other end closing the gap. English started the second with another strong run, making two more 3-pointers to push the margin to 10 for the Hornets. Addie Kea responded for the Knights, hitting a 3-pointer and making a layup to cut the deficit in half. Over the next six minutes, Kalamazoo went on a 14-2 run to more than double up the Knights (33-16), but Clarkson finally broke the run by scoring the final five points of the half.

Clarkson's rally at the end of the second quarter continued in the third. The Knights rattled off the first nine points of the third quarter to get within three (33-30) when Bella Doyle converted inside, forcing Kalamazoo to call a timeout. For the first five minutes of the third, the Clarkson defense forced six turnovers and saw Kalamazoo go 0-for-7 from the field, but layups on the next three possessions got the Hornets out of their funk.  For as strong as Clarkson started the third period, it ended on an equally rough stretch, going scoreless for the final five and a half minutes.

For most of the fourth quarter, Clarkson trailed by double figures. A Cassidy Dumont 3-pointer with 3:56 to go brought the Knights within nine. Clarkson was at that margin again a minute later, but that would be as close as the Green and Gold would get.

The Knights had 14 steals overall, including five from Cassidy Dumont. Dumont finished with 14 points and Addie Kea had a double-double thanks to 11 points and 13 rebounds, with five on the offensive glass. Bella Doyle also tossed in 13 points and blocked two shots.

For Kalamazoo, Sara English scored all of her game-high 20 points in the first half, making six 3-pointers. Jordan Wesaw chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds.