SAVANNAH, Ga. – Pitted against their second straight NCAA Tournament team in as many days, Clayton State (2-0, 0-0 PBC) pulled out a thrilling 73-72 victory over Wingate (1-1, 0-0 SAC) in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, November 12.
 
Following a late rally by the Bulldogs to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, junior guard Jimecheia Banks (Phenix, City, Ala.) gave the Lakers a 67-64 lead to start the extra session with a three point play. Wingate came out firing, however, as they mounted a 6-0 rally, highlighted by a game-tying Caroline Averette three, to take 70-67 lead with 3:21 left.
 
Recovering from that burst, redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) knocked down consecutive free throws to pull within one before a jumper by Alex Tomlinson pushed it back to a three point advantage with just over a minute left.
 
Clayton State's veteran leadership would be key in the final minute as redshirt-senior forward Ashley Cunningham (Douglasville, Ga.) delivered a layup to cut it to one with 33 seconds to play and then blocked a Taziya Moody layup at the other end to get the ball right back. Junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) grabbed the rebound and quickly got it to redshirt-senior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.), who was fouled immediately.
 
Trailing by one, and with just 13 seconds on the clock, Hawkins stepped to the line and proceeded to knock down both to give the Lakers a 73-72 lead. The defense then stepped up one more time as they forced a pair of misses from Tomlinson to lock up a thrilling one point overtime victory.
 
Johnson led the way for Clayton State with a career-high 21 points along with four steals in 42 minutes while Banks erupted for a career-best 18 points with three assists. Redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) finished with 13 points and six rebounds to round out the double-figure scorers.
 
Cunningham added eight points with four rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks and Rackley and junior center Rayven Thomas (North Las Vegas, Nev.) took care of the glass, hauling in eight and seven boards, respectively.
 
The Lakers took a 12-8 lead early in the first quarter and, following a scoreless stretch of nearly a minute and a half for both teams, WU put together a 12-2 stretch to flip the script and take the lead at 20-14. It would then be Clayton State's turn to power out to an extended run as they scored 12 of the next 15 points to retake the lead at 26-23 with 4:38 left in the half.
 
It would continue to be a game of runs, however, as a 6-0 burst by the Bulldogs put them back ahead, this time 29-26. The Lakers would battle back with a 6-2 stretch of their own to pull back ahead, 32-31, before Wingate closed the half with a narrow 33-32 margin.
 
The Bulldogs would open the second half firing on all cylinders as they came out with a 12-6 run to extend to a 45-38 advantage at 3:52 of the third. Another scoring drought for both teams would follow as neither club could take the lid off of the rim.
 
When they did, Clayton State made it a 46-44 game right before the end of the quarter on a pair of buckets and made free throws. After WU responded with back-to-back baskets of their own to push to a six point margin, the Lakers put together a 10-2 stretch that gave them a 54-52 lead with 6:59 to play.
 
Wingate would quickly pull back ahead and build a 57-54 advantage with 5:24 on the clock. The Lakers would not go away though as they answered with a 5-2 mini run that deadlocked the game at 59-59 with 2:57 remaining.
 
Following a Bulldog bucket by the 6-4 Marta Miscenko that gave them a two point lead, Johnson tied it with a layup and Banks knocked down a huge three-pointer for a 64-61 lead at 1:21. A pair of makes at the foul line by Shelby Tricoli and a split at the line by Danasia Witherspoon then tied up the game for Wingate with 12 seconds to play.
 
WU would miss a layup off of the missed free throw and then commit a foul on the Lakers rebound. With Clayton State unable to capitalize on two attempts from the line, the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound and fired off one last shot that went astray as time expired, sending the teams to overtime and setting the stage for an impressive late game victory.
 
Miscenko was nearly unstoppable for Wingate as she scored 29 points and ripped down 19 rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Averette finished with 10 points and eight boards while Courtney Robinson and Tomlinson had eight and seven points, respectively to cap the top offensive performances. Witherspoon added five points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
The Lakers will be right back in Savannah next weekend as they return for the Third Annual BJ Ford Classic on November 18-19. They will take on Livingstone on Day 1 before wrapping the tournament against Barton on the final day.
 
NOTES
Clayton State is now 5-4 all-time against a traditionally strong Wingate squad … the win represents their fifth in the last six meetings but the first in four neutral site meetings … it was the first regular season neutral site meeting between the teams.