Clayton State fends off pesky USC-Upstate in 69-65 thriller
Wiles scores 18 points as 17^th-ranked Clayton State improves to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in PBC

SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- FEBRUARY 3, 2007 --- Road victories are keys to winning the Peach Belt Conference women’s basketball championship, and the Clayton State Lakers picked up a huge road victory on Saturday.

 
Fresh of a rout at home against rival Columbus State on Wednesday, the Lakers made it two straight victories with a thrilling 69-65 victory at USC-Upstate. The victory improves 17^th-ranked Clayton State to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the Peach Belt heading into Wednesday’s PBC South Division showdown at Augusta State.

“You’ve got to steal some on the road, and we were very fortunate to win one here today,” said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox. “We’ve been working hard to overcome complacency and we need games like this to keep us level-headed.”

Clayton State held a seven-point lead at halftime, and took a 59-49 lead on a lay-up by Shantel Ragin with 9:16 remaining. But USC-Upstate went on a 13-3 run to trim the Laker lead to 63-62 with 3:18 remaining.  After Clayton State increased the lead to three points, the Spartans tied the game on a 3-point basket by Courtney Bradley with one minute remaining.

However, Ragin came up big again for the Lakers, draining a 15-foot jumper for the go-ahead basket and a 67-65 Clayton State lead with 31 seconds remaining. The Lakers came up with a big defensive stop in the final seconds, and Marie St. Fort sealed it for Clayton State with two free throws with two seconds remaining.

In the second half alone, the Lakers shot only 29 percent from the field and didn’t make a 3-point basket. However, there were some key defensive plays, including three drawn charges by senior center Alecia Humphrey in the game’s final three minutes.

“We missed a lot of shots in close that would not have made this game that close – just not finishing our shots,” Cox said. “But there were some big plays out there, and those defensive stops by Alecia were huge.”

If the first five minutes were any indications, the Lakers were still in Georgia. USC-Upstate scored the game’s first nine points and led 15-2 at the 15:31 mark. However, Clayton State held the Spartans to only five points over the next eight minutes and took a 25-20 lead on a jumper by Lynette Jackson with seven minutes remaining.

Humphrey’s jump shot with three minutes remaining increased the Clayton State lead to 39-29.

Sharon Wiles scored 18 points to pace Clayton State, while Ragin scored 14 points. Humphrey scored nine points off the bench, while St. Fort added eight points. Clayton State’s bench out-scored USC-Upstate 41-14.

For USC-Upstate (10-11, 5-5 PBC), Kiana Smith scored 20 points, while Danielle Edwards recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Bradley added 12 points on four 3-point baskets. The Spartans out-rebounded Clayton State 53-44.