WINTER PARK, Fla. – Coming off of their first loss of the season, Clayton State (4-1, 0-0 PBC) rebounded in a big way, blowing out Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras (0-6) by a score of 77-40 in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, November 28.
 
Senior forward Shay Upshaw (Tampa, Fla.) delivered a career-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and pulled down seven boards, five from the offensive glass, to pace the Lakers in just 17 minutes of action.
 
She was joined by redshirt-junior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) with 18 points and eight rebounds while senior center DaQuenna Moore (Plantersville, Ga.) finished with 14 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Junior guard Shakira Walker (Coral Springs, Fla.) added seven points, three steals and a pair of assists to round out the top performers.
 
Clayton State would jump out to the early 9-2 lead over the first 3:50 before the Gallitos responded with back-to-back buckets to cut the margin to three midway through the quarter. From there, however, it would be all Lakers as they put together a 19-1 run in a span of 5:12 to extend their lead to 28-7 with just 28 seconds gone by in the second period.
 
A pair of threes by Lirielys Ramos took the deficit down to 31-13 by the 7:12 mark and Rio Piedras would eventually get to within 15 points at 38-23. Four points by Moore over the final 2:41 then helped Clayton State take a 43-25 lead into the break.
 
It would get no better for the Gallitos in the third quarter as a 29-9 performance by the Lakers left them with a commanding 72-34 advantage. It would be a complete offensive outage in the fourth quarter however as neither team could find their rhythm. Rio Piedras would notch six points in the frame while Clayton State had five to polish off the 37-point victory.
 
Ramos led the way for the Gallitos with a team-high tying six points along with three rebounds while Lizdania Marrero finished with six points and four rebounds. Thalia Torres added four points, four boards and a pair of steals and Nicole Rodriguez and Trixia Rosario each chipped in with five points.
 
The Lakers return home on Friday, December 4 as they kick off the Heritage Bank Classic. They will open with Chowan at 5:30 p.m. on the opening day before taking on Livingstone in the tournament finale. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively, at The Loch.
 
NOTES
The 37-point margin of victory for Clayton State is the largest since defeating Virginia Union 88-51 on December 5, 2014 ... with averages of 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks, DaQuenna Moore was named to the All-Tournament Team.