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Respond is what Clayton State did.
Behind a stellar performance by senior wing Sharon Wiles, the Lakers got back on the winning track in the Peach Belt Conference with a hard-fought 82-72 victory over Armstrong Atlantic at Alumni Arena. The victory improves 15th-ranked Clayton State to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the Peach Belt.
The Lakers continue to lead the Peach Belt South Division by one game.
“We hope we’ve put an halt to this skid,” said Cox. “We knew this would be tough because Armstrong Atlantic plays so hard. We’ve been playing with fear lately, so hopefully this can make us overcome it.”
One player that wasn’t playing with fear was Wiles. She connected on her first nine shots of the game and was 10-for-12 in the first half for 20 points. In a first half in which there were nine lead changes in the first 12 minutes of the game, Wiles took control for the remainder of the half.
She nailed two straight jump shots to give the Lakers a three-point lead, and then a breakaway lay-up increased the Clayton State lead to 43-35 with three minutes remaining. The Lakers’ largest lead of the half was 10 points, including 52-42 at halftime.
Unlike the first half in which the Lakers shot 52 percent from the field, Clayton State shot only 29 percent from the field in the second half as the Pirates stormed back into the game with some strong offensive rebounding.
Trailing 63-50 with 15:27 remaining, Armstrong Atlantic battled back with a 14-1 run to tie the game. Kaneetha Gordon’s lay-up and free throw for a 3-point play at the nine-minute mark tied the game at 64-64.
But Clayton State answered with a 6-0 run of its own to take a 70-64 lead with seven minutes remaining. Armstrong Atlantic would get no closer than three points as Clayton State center Lynette Jackson hit three straight crucial inside baskets after missing her first 10 shots of the game.
“We were on fire in the first half, but couldn’t find the basket in the second half,” Cox said. “Thank God for LJ’s last three baskets because they were huge.”
Wiles scored a season-high 24 points for the Lakers, while grabbing seven rebounds with four steals. Shantel Ragin and Roberta Phillips both scored 12 points, and Jackson grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lakers.
For Armstrong Atlantic (10-8, 4-3 PBC), Tana Griffiths scored 24 points on five 3-point baskets, while Gordon recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Jasmine Herron added 10 points for the Pirates.
Clayton State returns to the Athletics and Fitness Center on
Saturday, playing host to USC-Aiken at 5:30 p.m. |
Laker women’s basketball team on Wednesday – how would Dennis Cox’s
15th-ranked Laker team respond to a disappointing defeat
at UNC-Pembroke on Saturday?