2009-10 Media Guide
(.pdf)

 


Preseason exhibition at Georgia highlights
2009-10 Clayton State women’s basketball schedule
Lakers to play in tournaments at Wingate and Rollins; in addition to home match-ups against SAC powers Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne

2009-10 Clayton State Laker Women's Basketball Schedule
MORROW, Ga. – September 17, 2009 – Two years ago, the Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team got the opportunity of a lifetime in opening its season with a preseason exhibition at Georgia. This season, it is the Laker women’s turn to head to Athens.

Clayton State head women’s basketball coach Dennis Cox officially released the Lakers’ schedule on Wednesday, and Clayton State starts it off with the a bang. The Lakers will travel to Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Nov. 8 for a preseason exhibition game against head coach Andy Landers’ perennial Southeastern Conference power Georgia Lady Bulldogs.

This is not the first time that Clayton State has opened its season with an exhibition against a Division I opponent, but it’s the first time against a high-major Division I opponent. And it’s against a Georgia program that was NCAA runner-up in 1985 and 1996, and has advanced to five "Final Fours", 10 "Elite Eights" and 16 "Sweet 16s."

Clayton State is coming off a banner 26-7 campaign last season, advancing to the NCAA Division II "Elite Eight" for the second time in the last three seasons.

"Perhaps the highlight of the schedule is a first time ever meeting with the University of Georgia in an exhibition game on November 8th," said Cox, 125-37 entering his sixth season at the Laker helm. "We are honored to have that opportunity."

The Georgia exhibition is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the strength of Clayton State’s non-conference games for the 2009-10 season.

The Lakers officially open the season at home on Nov. 25 against in-state rival Albany State out of the SIAC. Other non-conference home games include SAC power Carson-Newman on Dec. 12 in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Division II National Tournament first-round game, plus defending SAC champion Lenoir-Rhyne and Brewton-Parker in the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic at the Athletics and Fitness Center on Dec. 29-30.

The final non-conference home game for the Lakers is on Jan. 2 against Sunshine State Conference power Rollins.

In terms of non-conference road match-ups, Clayton State will play in two prestigious classics. The Lakers will compete in the Rollins Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27-28 against both Nova Southeastern and Rollins, and the OrthoCarolina Classic at Wingate on Dec. 18-19 against SAC powers Wingate and Tusculum.

The final non-conference road game for Clayton State is Jan. 3 at West Florida from the Gulf South Conference.

"The one thing that really stands out to me on the schedule this year is the imbalance in road and home games. We must be road warriors this year," Cox said. "We played 16 home games last season, compared to only 12 this season. We went 15 -1 in those home games, so it is obviously a big advantage to play in the friendly confines.

"The good news is that we have some of our toughest match-ups at home."

With the additions of Montevallo and Flagler this season, the Peach Belt Conference will return to divisional formats this season. Clayton State will be in the PBC West Division with Montevallo, North Georgia, Columbus State, Georgia College and Georgia Southwestern. The PBC East consists of Augusta State, Armstrong Atlantic, USC Aiken, Francis Marion, Lander, Flagler and UNC Pembroke.

Clayton State opens PBC play at home against UNC Pembroke on Dec. 5, followed by an early-season road showdown at Augusta State on Dec. 15. The other PBC home games for the Lakers include Georgia College (Jan. 9), USC Aiken (Jan. 16), Montevallo (Jan. 20), North Georgia (Jan. 23), Armstrong Atlantic (Jan. 27), Flagler (Jan. 30), Columbus State (Feb. 17) and Georgia Southwestern (Feb. 27).

In addition to Augusta State, Clayton State plays conference games on the road at Columbus State (Jan. 13), Georgia Southwestern (Feb. 3), Georgia College (Feb. 7), Lander (Feb. 11), Francis Marion (Feb. 13), Montevallo (Feb. 20) and North Georgia (Feb. 24).