             |
The
Lakers battled back from a huge first-half deficit, and had the Lady
Eagles on the edge late in the contest. However, Florida Gulf Coast
made some key baskets down the stretch and pulled off a 61-57
thrilling victory over determined Clayton State. The Lakers’ best
season in school history concludes at 29-6, while Florida Gulf Coast
remains an undefeated 34-0 and will battle Southern Connecticut in
the NCAA Division II national championship game on Saturday. “I
am so proud of this team. It was a great experience and a huge step
for our program,” said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox.
“Tonight, we showed the people what our program is about. To come
back against a team like that is tremendous.” Indeed
the Lakers found themselves in a deep hole early. The Lady Eagles
made four 3-point baskets in the first six minutes of the game to
lead 22-2. Florida Gulf stretched the lead to 20 points on two more
occasions in the first half before Clayton State closed out the half
on a 6-0 run. Roberta Phillips’ 3-point basket at the buzzer
brought the Lakers to within 14 points, 36-22 at halftime. However,
after shooting only 25 percent in the first half, Clayton State shot
46 percent from the field in the second and started playing vintage
Laker basketball with its signature defensive pressure. Clayton
State came out strong on a 20-4 run in the first seven minutes of
the second half. Marie St. Fort drained a 3-point basket and was
fouled for a four-point play to bring Clayton State to within nine
points, 40-31 with 17:47 remaining. Alecia Humphrey and St. Fort
followed with lay-ups, and Kim Lloyd’s 3-point basket gave Clayton
State its first lead of the game, 42-40 with 13:19 remaining. The
lead changed hands twice before Florida Gulf Coast built its lead
back to four points 55-51 with 3:46 remaining. However, a lay-up by
Nikkisha Pritchett in traffic and two St. Fort free throws tied the
game for Clayton State 55-55 with 2:30 remaining. However,
the dagger in the Lakers’ back came with less than two minutes
remaining. After missing a jump shot, Florida Gulf Coast retrieved
an offensive rebound, and the Eagles’ Steffi Sorensen put Florida
Gulf Coast ahead for good, 58-55 with 1:52 remaining. Clayton
State trimmed the deficit to three points with 10 seconds remaining,
and then put Florida Gulf Coast’s Chelsea Dermyer at the free
throw line with six seconds remaining. She missed the front end of a
one-and-one, but Amanda Pierce grabbed the offensive rebound to
preserve the victory for the Eagles. St. Fort scored 16 points off the bench to pace Clayton State, while Phillips scored 13 points and Alecia Humphrey added eight points and 10 rebounds. All-American Katie Schrader scored 25 points for Florida Gulf Coast and Sorensen scored 14 points. |
championship just a game
away, the Clayton State Laker women’s basketball laid it all on
the line on Thursday night in the NCAA Division II “Final Four”
against top-ranked Florida Gulf Coast.