St. Fort shines as Clayton State women win 76-72 thriller at North Georgia
Junior guard scores career-high 22 points as Lakers improve to 11-5 overall and 6-3 in Peach Belt

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – January 23, 2008 – Just when everyone thought the Clayton State Laker women’s basketball was left for dead, they’ve stormed back.

Behind a career-high 22 points by junior guard Marie St. Fort, Clayton State made it four straight victories on Wednesday with a thrilling 76-72 Peach Belt Conference victory at in-state rival North Georgia. The victory improves the Lakers to 11-5 overall and 6-3 in the Peach Belt Conference.

"Since about two weeks ago, it’s been like boot camp in our practices – we’ve gone at it hard," said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox. "Now we’re playing better and I won’t change anything. To win this conference, you have to steal a few on the road, and we’ve been doing that lately."

With St. Fort scoring 12 points in the first half, Clayton State led by as much as 17 points and held a 40-31 lead at halftime. However, North Georgia came out on fire in the second half with a 17-2 run to wipe out the Clayton State lead.

Syretha Marble’s lay-up gave the Lady Saints a 48-42 lead with 12:22 remaining.

"We’ve really been playing well lately in the first half and going in with leads," Cox said. "The challenge is getting that intensity. The good thing about is the opponent has to exhume a lot of energy in coming back, and that has enabled us to finish strong."

Finish strong the Lakers did. Clayton State never let the Lady Saint lead get above six points, and the Lakers gradually widdled away at North Georgia. St. Fort’s 3-point play tied the score at 60-60 with 5:03 remaining, and Shanrika Hardeman gave Clayton State the lead for good, 65-64 with 3:46 remaining on an assist by Shantel Ragin.

Clayton State twice increased the lead to four points, including 71-67 on Hardeman’s two free throws at the 1:33 mark, But North Georgia cut the lead to one point on a 3-point play by Kourtney Singleton with 1:15 remaining.

Trailing 74-72 with 19 seconds remaining, North Georgia had a golden opportunity to tie the game. But Singleton missed a point-blank lay-up with seven seconds remaining, preserving the victory for Clayton State.

In addition to St. Fort, Roberta Phillips scored 16 points for Clayton State. Over the last three games, Phillips has averaged 19 points. Hardeman scored 12 points and Lisa Jackson added 10 points for the Lakers. One key for Clayton State was its production off the bench, where the Lakers out-scored North Georgia’s bench 28-0.

Marble was tremendous for North Georgia (11-4, 4-4 PBC). The junior recorded a double-double with a whopping 34 points and 11 rebounds. Megan Huffman scored 16 points and Brooke Baker added 12 points for the Lady Saints.

Clayton State is back at the Athletics and Fitness Center on Saturday for a 2 p.m. Peach Belt Conference showdown against Francis Marion.