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And
as in previous games when their backs were to the wall, the Lakers
responded. Giving
one of its better defensive performances in recent weeks, Clayton
State pulled off a 71-66 victory over Georgia College at the
Centennial Center. The 17th-ranked Lakers improve to 19-4
overall and 9-3 in the Peach Belt. The victory, coupled with
Armstrong Atlantic’s 74-63 upset over Columbus State, puts Clayton
State back in sole possession of first place in the PBC South
Division. “We
seem to play so much better with our backs to the wall, but we got
back to our style today,” said Clayton State head coach Dennis
Cox. “Right now this team isn’t sure of itself, but we’re
fighting through it, and we fought through it today. Today, it was
all about focus and defending.” The
defensive effort was definitely there for Clayton State. The Lakers
forced 26 Lady Bobcat turnovers, recorded 17 steals and 12 blocked
shots. However,
like a lot of previous games, Clayton State got off to a slow start
offensively. The Lakers made only two of their first 12 shots and
trailed 15-4 in the game’s first seven minutes. Georgia College
increased the lead to 20-10 on a 3-point basket by Marquita Driskell
with 8:20 remaining. That,
however was the last basket that Georgia College would score for
almost eight minutes. Clayton State countered with a 14-0 run and
finished the first half on a 16-2 to lead 26-22 at halftime. The
Lakers led despite shooting only 24 percent (8-for-33) from the
field. “That
run was the key for us,” Cox said. “The way we kept our
composure was good. We didn’t make our shots early, but we fought
through it with our defense. That was a long stretch where they
didn’t score.” Shooting
a sizzlin’ 61 percent from the field in the second half, including
67 percent from 3-point range, Clayton State increased its lead to
as much as 14 points in the second half. A 3-point basket by Alecia
Humphrey made the Laker lead 62-49 with 3:15 remaining. Georgia
College made one final push, trimming the Laker lead to three points
with a 12-2 run. Ashley Williams’ lay-up cut the Clayton State
lead to 64-61 with 40 seconds remaining. But Clayton State responded
with six key free throws down the stretch to win it. Shantel
Ragin paced Clayton State with 14 points, while Sharon Wiles and
Marie St. Fort each scored 12 points. Defensively, Ragin recorded
five steals, while centers Lynette Jackson and Alecia Humphrey each
had four blocked shots. Clayton State out-scored Georgia College
33-11 off the bench. Driskell
scored 24 points for Georgia College (16-7, 7-5), followed by
Williams with 14 points and Cassie Milner with 10 points. The Lady
Bobcats out-rebounded Clayton State 46-39. Clayton
State returns home for the first time in two weeks, playing host to
Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Athletics and
Fitness Center. Second-half Clayton State rally comes up short in 84-79 defeat at Augusta State Pritchett scores 16 points off the bench as 17th-ranked Laker women fall to 18-4 and 8-3 in Peach Belt
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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defeat at Augusta State, the Clayton State Laker women’s
basketball faced a gut-check situation at in-state Peach Belt
Conference rival Georgia College on Saturday.
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.