Clayton State University Athletics

Led by head coach Dennis Cox and assistant coach Kaleena Coleman, the 2011 National Championship team consisted of 13 student-athletes: Timethia Bennett, Latonda Bruce, Keona Dixon, Breanna Fort, Alexiss Griffin, Drameka Griggs, Brittany Hall, Renee Jackson, Shacamra Jackson, Genesis Kelly, Kayla Mobley, Teshymia Tillman and Tanisha Woodard.
 
Clayton State finished the 2010-11 season with a 35-1 record after opening the year with 29 consecutive wins that featured victories over three nationally ranked opponents.
 
Arguably, one of the most thrilling wins of the season came at home on February 10 when Clayton State hosted the top-ranked Lander Bearcats. In a battle of unbeatens, the #2 Lakers found themselves trailing 79-69 with 4:14 left to play. Refusing to accept defeat, Clayton State closed the game with a 14-2 run to knock off their PBC rival and keep the perfect season alive.
 
The Lakers remained on the winning path, capturing the regular-season conference title with a perfect 17-0 conference record. Clayton State entered the PBC tournament and rolled past Montevallo, 90-48, in the first-round before falling to USC Aiken, 73-72, in the semifinals for its first and only loss of the season.
 
After missing out on a conference tournament title and an undefeated season, Clayton State would still host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament. With the pressure of a perfect season gone, the Dennis Cox led team rolled through the first three games, winning by an average of 22.3 points.
 
The Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Missouri was the same story for Clayton State. This time, the winning margin was 19.6 points. They took down Bentley University in the Elite Eight and Shaw University in the Final Four before downing #3 Michigan Tech, 69-50, in the championship game. Teshymia Tillman would go on to earn MVP honors.
 
A completely balanced team, the Lakers posted the nation’s best scoring margin of 22.4 and led the country in steals per game with 17.9. Dominate on both ends of the court, Clayton State averaged 79.8 points per game while holding opponents to 57.4 points a game.
 
The 2011 Clayton State Women’s Basketball National Championship team remains the only women’s basketball team from the Peach Belt Conference, Southeast Region and State of Georgia to claim a national championship.
 
The 2010-11 team began of a special run for the Lakers. From 2010-2013, Clayton State went 96 and 6, posting the highest winning percentage in the nation during that time. The Lakers also posted a Peach Belt Conference record of 52 and 1 and had the second fewest losses of any NCAA women’s basketball program in the nation.