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En route to the Sleep Inn Classic at St. Leo late Thursday night, the Clayton State bus broke down in north Florida, and the team spent most of the night struggling to get to its destination. The trials of the trip was evident early for the Lakers on Friday evening against Flagler, but a strong second half burst triggered by the a strong pressure defense led to a convincing 76-44 victory for Clayton State.
“We played very well in the second half, and the press was really working,” said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox. “That was basically the ballgame. Considering all that happened the night before, we responded well.”
Clinging to a five-point lead at halftime, Clayton State exploded out the gates in the second half on a 16-0 run over the first six minutes.
Senior wing Sharon Wiles spearheaded the charge with 10 points during the rally – all on lay-ups. In fact, she scored those points in succession as the Laker lead increased from 36-27 to 46-27. A lay-up by Tamara Layton made the Clayton State lead 48-27 with 14:38 remaining.
Flagler briefly halted the Laker scoring streak, but Clayton State responded with 10 unanswered points for an overall 26-2 run and a commanding 28-point lead. Crystal Brown’s jump shot and lay-up at the 11:18 mark made the Laker lead 58-30.
The closest Flagler was able to cut the Clayton State advantage was 23 points, including a 63-40 lead with 6:23 remaining. For the second half, Clayton State shot 51 percent from the field.
“We made some adjustments defensively in the second half and with the press, and that led to some easy lay-ups,” Cox said. “The shooting percentage was deceptive because we didn’t shoot well from the outside.”
Unlike the second half, the Lakers struggled from the field in the first half, managing to shoot only 28 percent from the field. Clayton State’s largest lead of the first half was six points, 24-18 on a lay-up by Wiles with 8:42 remaining. The Saints twice cut the Laker lead to one point, but Clayton State got consecutive lay-ups by Nikkisha Pritchett and Wiles to lead 32-27 at halftime.
Wiles scored a game-high 20 points as four Clayton State players reached double-figures in scoring. Pritchett scored 12 points off the bench, while Shantel Ragin scored 11 points and Alecia Humphrey recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Junior center Lynette Jackson dished out eight assists.
For the game, Clayton State out-rebounded Flagler 52-38, and the Lakers’ pressing defense forced the Saints into a whopping 41 turnovers.
For Flagler (0-1), Elizabeth Tuzzulo scored 11 points and Jamie
Allenbaugh recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. |
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