WINTER PARK, Fla. – Faced with a matchup with one of the best teams in the country, Clayton State (3-1, 0-0 PBC) held their own for a half against No. 9/18 Lubbock Christian (5-0, 0-0 Heartland) before a dominant second half by the Chaps led to a 79-54 final in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Friday, November 27.
 
Senior center DaQuenna Moore (Plantersville, Ga.) led the way with 10 points and seven boards, four offensive, in 25 minutes of action while redshirt-junior forward Ashley Cunningham (Douglasville, Ga.) finished with eight points and three rebounds.  Senior guard Kayla Pryce (Melbourne, Fla.) added five points and a team-high five assists to round out the top performers.
 
The Chaparrals came out and showed right away why they are among the nation's best as they raced out to a commanding 17-4 lead over the first 4:56. Over the remaining 5:04 of the opening stanza, however, Clayton State came alive, using a 12-6 run to close to within 23-16 at the end of the first quarter.
 
A triple from junior guard Dejoun Dennard (Seffner, Fla.), followed by a free throw from Cunningham, at the start of the second then extended that run to 16-6 and cut the deficit to 23-20.
 
A 5-0 burst by LCU pushed their lead back to eight at 28-20 by the 7:02 mark but the Lakers would not go away. Over the next 5:22, they would put together a 10-3 run, fueled by five different scorers, to cut it to 33-30 with 1:40 left in the half. The Chaps would then snap that streak with three points down the stretch and take a 36-30 advantage into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, the Lakers would close to within two points twice, including at 40-38 at the 7:15 mark. Following a two-minute scoreless stretch for both teams, it would be Lubbock Christian that would regain their offense first as they notched a 7-0 run for a 47-38 lead at 3:39. A three by Hynes would break that run nine seconds later and make it 47-41.
 
From there, however, it would be all LCU as they put together a massive 27-10 run in a span of 10:38 to blow it open and take a 74-51 lead. They would then close out the 25-point victory, 79-54, over the final 2:52.
 
Tess Bruffey led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block to lead the Chaparrals. Haley Fowler came away with a well-rounded line of 15 points, six boards and five assists while Nicole Hampton finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. They were joined in double figures by Allison Szabo, who had 10 points and five caroms in 18 minutes.
 
In the second half, LCU outscored Clayton State 43-24 and shot an incredible 16-of-19 from the field. The latter came in at an .842 mark. They also went 7-of-8 from the foul line.
 
The Lakers wrap up action at the 2015 Rollins Thanksgiving Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, November 28, when they take on Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras in the consolation game. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
 
NOTES
The meeting with Lubbock Christian was the first in program history.