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The
defeat dropped 17th-ranked Clayton State to 18-4 overall
and 8-3 in the Peach Belt. The Lakers are now tied for first place
in the PBC South Division with Columbus State, a 78-75 winner over
Georgia College on Wednesday. Trailing
46-26 at halftime, Clayton State mounted a tremendous rally in the
second half, shooting 53 percent from the field and a whopping 64
percent from 3-point range. The Lakers opened the half on a 17-10
run to trim the Lady Jaguar lead to three points. Roberta
Phillips and Marie St. Fort each drained 3-point baskets to bring
the Lakers to within eight points, 52-44 with 14 minutes remaining.
Nikkisha Pritchett followed with a three-point play, and then Tracey
Browne’s finger roll lay-up made the score 56-53 with 11:24
remaining. That,
however, was as close as Clayton State would get. Augusta State
increased the lead back to seven points four times, and then a
3-point basket by Alla Batovska increased the Lady Jaguar lead 78-68
with 2:34 remaining. The closest the Lakers would get down the
stretch was five points. The
first half was one the Lakers would rather forget. Clayton State
managed only 28 percent shooting from the field in the first half,
including only 15 percent from 3-point range. Like Saturday’s game
at USC-Upstate, the Lakers got behind early as Augusta State scored
the game’s first eight points. After
falling behind 22-9, Clayton State trimmed the lead to 22-19 with a
10-0 run, capped off by Crystal Brown’s lay-up with eight minutes
remaining. However,
Augusta answered with a 24-7 run to close out the half. Prtichett
scored 16 points off the bench to pace Clayton State, while Brown
recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. St. Fort
scored 11 points off the bench and Shantel Ragin added 10 points. Deo
Ngulela paced Augusta State (15-6, 7-4), while Jasmine Godwin scored
17 points, Brittany Jarrard scored 14 points and Sherika Parker
added 12 points. Clayton
State closes out the three-game road swing with a key Peach Belt
South Division showdown at Georgia College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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showed plenty of heart and determination in the second half of
Wednesday’s Peach Belt Conference game at Augusta State. However,
a 20-point halftime deficit was too much for Clayton State to
overcome as the Lakers dropped an 84-79 decision to Augusta State at
Christenberry Fieldhouse.