Wednesday, January 18, 2006
#21 CLAYTON STATE FALLS 79-65 TO NORTH GEORGIA IN PBC BATTLE
Morrow, Ga. – The 21st -ranked Clayton State women's basketball team fought hard, but was unable to overcome a big first half deficit. North Georgia College & State University defeated the Lady Lakers 79-65 to in a battle for first place in the Peach Belt Conference at the Athletics & Fitness Center Wednesday.
It was a tale of two halves with North Georgia taking control in the first half, taking a 44-21 at intermission before Clayton State came back to outscore the Saints 44-35 in the second half.
North Georgia jumped out to a quick 17-point lead, 25-8, in the first 10 minutes of the game. Katie Williamson capped the run with two free throws, two of her 11 points in the first half. The Lady Saints maintained its advantage and pushed their lead later in period to 22 points, 37-15, on a three-pointer by Jeanine Dorminey.
After an exchange of baskets, Megan Huffman drained a three-pointer to give the Saints a 23-point advantage, its biggest lead of the half with under two minutes remaining. Peach Belt Player of the Week Syretha Marble led the Saints in the opening 20 minutes with 13 points, hitting 5-of-6 from the floor.
In the second half, Clayton State clawed its way back into the game in the final 10 minutes. Trailing 66-44 with 9:41 remaining, the Lakers went on a 9-0 run and cut the lead to 11 points on a jumper by senior Jasmine Patterson with 8:15 remaining. Junior Teri Willis hit two consecutive three-pointers in the run.
North Georgia answered and pushed its lead back 14 points only to have the Lakers come back once again with a three-pointer by Patterson and a free throw by junior Alecia Humphrey to cut the deficit to 10 points, 71-61, with 5:57 left. The Lakers would come no closer, however, as the Saints outscored Clayton State 8-4 down the stretch to seal the victory.
With the win, North Georgia improves to 12-3 overall and 8-0 in the Peach Belt, while Clayton State drops to 11-3 and 5-2 in the league. Clayton State will return to action on Saturday, hosting Francis Marion in a 2 p.m. game, and the Saints will host Armstrong Atlantic State University in a 2 p.m. contest.
For Clayton State, Patterson led the attack with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Sharon Wiles chipped in 13 points and had seven rebounds and four assists. Senior Shelcey Harp added 10 points and grabbed seven boards.
Williamson led North Georgia with 21 points, followed by Marble with 18 points and six boards. Lara Seamon finished with 10 points and pulled 18 rebounds, including 16 in the first half. Dorminey finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
After Clayton State shot only 20 percent (7-of-35) from the field in the first half, the Lakers responded to shot 45 percent (17-of-38) in the second half. North Georgia shot 53 percent (17-of-32) in the first half before hitting only 38 percent (11-of-29) in the second half. Both teams had trouble handling the ball as North Georgia finished with 26 turnovers and Clayton State had 19. The Saints won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Lakers 48-39.
Box Score
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