AUGUSTA, Ga. – In a battle of first place Peach Belt Conference teams, Clayton State (16-3, 10-2 PBC) could not overcome a 20-point second half deficit as Augusta (16-5, 9-3 PBC) came away with a 69-56 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 30.
 
Senior center DaQuenna Moore (Plantersville, S.C.) posted a tremendous game with 15 rebounds, nine of which came off of the offensive glass, seven points, four assists and three steals in 30 minutes while redshirt-junior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) finished with 16 points. For Moore, the nine offensive rebounds were two shy of the program record of 11 set by Catreia Shaw on February 24, 2003.
 
They were joined by senior forward Shay Upshaw (Tampa, Fla.) with a near double-double of nine points and 10 boards. Redshirt-junior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) rounded out the top performers with 11 points.
 
Neither team would take firm control over the first 5:24 of the game as the lead changed hands four times and left Augusta with a narrow 12-11 advantage. The last of those changes would spark a 7-0 run that made it 17-11 by the 2:04 mark. The teams would then trade baskets to get to 19-13, a margin that would hold through the end of the quarter.
 
Trailing 21-15 at the start of the second, the Lakers charged back with a 7-2 run to cut it to 23-22 by the 5:48 mark. The clubs would then remain within four points of each other the rest of the half as Clayton State closed to within two on three occasions, including the halftime score of 31-29.
 
The Jaguars would come out firing in the third as they scored the first seven points as part of a larger 11-5 run to push to a 44-34 margin by the 5:15 mark. The lead would eventually grow to 11 at 47-36 before Augusta closed the period with a 49-39 advantage.
 
It would get no better for the Lakers over the final 10 minutes as the Jaguars opened with an 11-1 stretch over the first four minutes and proceeded to extend the lead to a game-high 21 points at 62-41. From there, the Lakers would rally to within 13 points in the final minutes, 67-54, but could not overcome the deficit, eventually falling 69-56.
 
Breonna O'Conner led all scorers with 20 points and Kariel Hutt had 12 points, six boards, five steals and five blocks to lead Augusta while Kayla Lovett finished with 11 points, five assists and six rebounds. Cynara Pitt added 10 rebounds and Lonna Turner had seven points.
 
The Lakers return to action on Wednesday, February 3 when they travel to division rival Columbus State. Tip-off for a game that could help decide the division is set for 5:30 p.m. in Columbus, Georgia.