Griggs named Peach Belt Player of the Year; Jackson, Pryce and Mobley also receive awards
AUGUSTA, GA – The No. 1 ranked and undefeated Clayton State women's basketball team (26-0) is having a season to remember, and on Tuesday, several Laker players were recognized for their outstanding regular season play.
Senior guard Drameka Griggs, senior forward Kayla Mobley, junior center Shacamra Jackson and freshman guard Kayla Pryce, all received awards from the Peach Belt Conference office in Augusta, GA.
Griggs received the conference's top honor, as she was named the Peach Belt Conference's Player of the Year, the first time a Clayton State player has received the honor. The senior from Ellenwood, GA, is second in the PBC in scoring with 19.5 points per game. She is also second in the league in steals and field goal percentage and leads the conference in free throw percentage.
A four-time PBC Player of the Week this season, Griggs has led the team in scoring 21 times this year and is 39 points shy of tying the school's single-season scoring mark of 547 points. This is the second-year in a row Griggs has been named to the All-Conference squad.
A junior from Marietta, GA, Jackson leads the Peach Belt and is ranked seventh in the nation in blocked shots. She is also 10th in the PBC in defensive rebounds and fifth in steals on the Laker team. Jackson had five games this season with five or more blocks and captains a defense that leads the nation in blocked shots and is sixth in scoring defense.
Clayton State as a team leads the PBC in blocks, steals, field goal percentage defense, scoring defense and is second in rebound margin. Jackson is the third straight Laker to win the Defensive Player of the Year award; Tanisha Woodard claimed the award the previous two years.
Pryce started all 26 games for the #1 team in the nation in her first year of collegiate basketball. A freshman from Melbourne, FL, she logged the third-most minutes on the team and is fifth on the squad in scoring. She is also third in assists and fourth in steals for the Lakers with six double-digit scoring games this season. She becomes the second Clayton State player to be named the PBC's Freshman of the Year, joining Apryl Brown who received the honor in 2001-02.
Mobley, a senior from Plantation, FL, was named to the Peach Belt's All-Conference team along with Griggs and Jackson. She is the team's second leading scorer and the team's top rebounder. Mobley ranks third in the Peach Belt in field goal percentage, fifth in offensive rebounds, ninth in total rebounds and sixth in blocked shots. She posted 15 double-digit scoring games this year and five double-doubles.
Along with Griggs and Jackson, Mobley is a 3-year letterwinner in the Clayton State basketball program, which is 90-5 (.947) over the last three years, the top winning percentage of any program at the NCAA Division II level. The Lakers have won three straight Peach Belt regular season championships and the NCAA Division II national championship in 2010-11.
Clayton State will open this week's Peach Belt Conference Tournament at Columbus State as the top seed from the West Division and will face Armstrong on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Peach Belt Conference Women's Basketball
2012-13 All-Conference Team
First Team
Taylor Beverly, Montevallo
Jaymee Carnes, North Georgia
Drameka Griggs, Clayton State
Williesha Spencer, Flagler
Daniela Tarailo, USC Aiken
Second Team
Brittany Hill, USC Aiken
Mimi Hill, North Georgia
Tanchelle Hollingsworth, Augusta State
Shanteona Keys, Georgia College
Kayla Mobley, Clayton State
Taren White, Columbus State
Third Team
Taylor Ayers, Augusta State
Stephanie Huffman, North Georgia
Shacamra Jackson, Clayton State
Jazmine Kemp, UNC Pembroke
Player of the Year
Drameka Griggs, Clayton State
Freshman of the Year
Kayla Pryce, Clayton State
Defensive Player of the Year
Shacamra Jackson, Clayton State
Coach of the Year
Nate Teymer, Augusta State
