Morrow, GA -- The No. 1 ranked Clayton State women's basketball team captured its record-setting 30th straight win and advanced to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional semifinals Friday with a 91-58 win over Mount Olive at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
The Lakers came into the Southeast Regionals as the favorite to win, and with the victory, Clayton State advances to Saturday's semifinals against USC-Aiken, a 94-71 winner over Lenoir-Rhyne.
It took a while for the Lakers (30-0) to shake the pesky Trojans, who beat Clayton State's pressure defense early for easy baskets. But as the game wore on, the press took its toll on the visitors and the Lakers won going away.
Clayton State took the lead for good on a pair of Bena Hanyard free throws with 10:54 left in the first half. Her shots started a 29-12 run that put the game away.
Leading the charge was the inside-outside combination of Kayla Mobley and region Player of the Year Drameka Griggs. Mobley physically dominated Trojans (18-12) in the paint. She grabbed seven rebounds and tossed in 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. Along with teammates Shacamra Jackson and Jessica Covington, the Lakers were able to limit Mount Olive's interior attack. They combined for six blocked shots in the first half.
The biggest difference was the terrorizing pressure Griggs and company applied to Mount Olive. The Trojans committed 31 turnovers in all, most of which came when the Lakers pulled away.
"These girls did what they do," said Laker Coach Dennis Cox. "Mount Olive is a fantastic team and they came here hot. They came in with a lot of energy, more than we had that first 10 or 12 minutes. I think we were able to turn it up a notch and were able to turn them over."
Griggs led all scorers with 22 points. When Mount Olive's top scorers Jasmine McDonald and Tamara Nesmith were sent to the bench with three fouls midway through the first half, the Trojans were left without their floor leader and their top scorer.
"It made a big difference I think," said Cox. "We knew (McDonald) was their best ball-handler and she can score – and we knew all about (Nesmith) who can do so much with the ball. They have very physical guards. That's something we don't have. When they had to come out of the game, we were able to disrupt their game."
Clayton State outscored Mount Olive in bench scoring 38-6.
Mobley finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for the Lakers. Keona Dixon added 14 points and six steals and Jackson had 13 points and five blocks.
McDonald led Mount Olive with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
