St. Augustine, FL – The 7th-ranked Clayton State women's basketball team fell on Saturday to Peach Belt Conference opponent Flagler and in the process had an impressive winning streak snapped.
The Lakers lost 74-63 to the Saints in St. Augustine, FL, snapping a 36-game road winning streak. The program's last road regular season loss had come in the 2009-10 season against Montevallo on February 20th, falling 65-60. The loss to Flagler was also only the second conference loss for Clayton State in the last 56 Peach Belt games, dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Trailing by 12 points, 58-46, with 10:17 remaining in the game, the Lakers made a late run and cut the deficit to four points, 60-56, on a jumper by guard Bena Hanyard with seven minutes remaining. The Lakers would come no closer though, as the Saints answered with a 14-5 stretch over the next five minutes to seal the victory.
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Flagler's Treva Mason with 2:15 remaining gave the Saints a 74-61 lead. Neither team scored over the next two minutes until Clayton State center Andrea Benford scored a basket in the paint in the final seconds.
With the loss, the Lakers drop to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the Peach Belt, while Flagler improves to 4-7 and 2-2 in the league. The win for the Saints was their first over the Lakers in six all-time meetings. Clayton State will return to Athletics Center on Wednesday, hosting PBC foe Young Harris in a 5:30 p.m. game.
After the lead swapped hands several times in the opening seven minutes of the game, Flagler took the lead for good on a steal and layup by forward Passhayla Williams, giving the Saints a 14-12 advantage. The Lakers trailed 37-28 at intermission after a basket by forward Shacamra Jackson in the closing seconds of the period.
The Saints led by double-digits for much of the second period until the Lakers went on a 10-2 run midway through the half to cut the lead to four points.
For Clayton State, guard Tiayra Green led the attack with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals. Benford added 12 points and seven rebounds, followed by Jackson posting a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Guard Kayla Pryce chipped in 10 and had five assists.
For Flagler, guard Shelbi Lindsey finished with a game-high 20 points, followed by Mason with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Williams and guard Williesha Spencer added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Clayton State shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the floor, while Flagler hit 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field, the second highest of any opponent against the Lakers this year. Clayton State won the battle on the boards 42-38 but committed 22 turnovers compared to 18 for the Saints. Flagler scored 24 points off Laker turnovers.
