Full Game Video I Postgame Interview

MORROW, Ga. – In the final game of the 2015 Heritage Bank Classic, Clayton State (6-1, 0-0 PBC) showed there was no let down following a convincing win on Day 1 as they downed Livingstone (2-3, 0-0 CIAA) by an 83-68 score in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, December 5.
 
Senior center DaQuenna Moore (Plantersville, Ga.) delivered a nine point, eight rebound performance in 19 minutes of action to lead the Lakers while redshirt-junior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) hauled in 11 rebounds and notched a pair of steals. Senior forward Shay Upshaw (Tampa, Fla.), redshirt-junior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) and redshirt-senior forward Jessica Covington (Tifton, Ga.) each reached double figures in scoring, finishing with 14, 12 and 10 points respectively.
 
Senior guard Kayla Pryce (Melbourne, Fla.) added six points, five boards and a pair of assists and senior guard Kenisha Jones-Barrett (Winter Haven, Fla.) and junior guard Alexus Hynes (Houston, Texas) each had eight points on the day.
 
Clayton State wasted no time as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead just two and a half minutes in before the Blue Bears cut it to 13-10 at 3:15. The Lakers would push the lead back out, this time to 22-14 by the end of the first quarter, but would once again see it evaporate as Livingstone used a 9-2 run to close to within 24-23 at 7:18.
 
Holding a slim 26-25 lead with 5:56 left in the half, Clayton State seemed to tire of the back-and-forth as they mounted an impressive 17-2 run to extend to a 43-27 lead at the break.
 
That strong play would continue into the third quarter as a steady offensive push would lead to a 66-44 margin by the end of the period. It would be Livingstone's turn to find their offense in the fourth quarter as they eventually narrowed the gap to 13 points at 79-66 with just under two minutes to play. That would be as close as they would get, however, as the Lakers closed out the 83-68 victory to move to 6-1 on the year.
 
Amber Curtis led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals while Toxiana Wilson finished with a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards, eight of which came off of the offensive glass. They were joined by Brittany Taylor with 12 points and 11 boards and Kanesha Lankford swiped a game-high six steals to go with five points.
 
The Lakers will have an extended break due to finals week and will not return to action until Thursday, December 17 when they host Lander in their Peach Belt Conference opener. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. at The Loch.
 
NOTES
Clayton State benefitted from a 36-4 advantage in bench scoring … the Lakers played all 13 eligible players in the game … no one logged more than 22 minutes.