MORROW, Ga. – Kicking off home Peach Belt Conference action Clayton State (9-2, 1-1 PBC) burst out of the gate and downed USC Aiken (5-5, 1-1 PBC) to earn a 76-61 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Monday, December 19.
 
Redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) produced another stellar game, recording 17 points, 11 boards, three assists, two steals and a pair of blocks to lead the way. She was joined by redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) with 16 points, four steals and three assists while redshirt-senior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) and senior guard Dejoun Dennard (Tampa, Fla.) each added 10 points.
 
The Lakers would explode out of the gate, scoring the first 10 points on their way to a 19-6 lead by the 3:34 mark of the first quarter. USC Aiken would rebound over the remainder of the quarter, closing the gap to 26-16 after 10 minutes.
 
The Pacers would not stay within that 10 point range for long, however, as Clayton State used a 14-6 stretch to extend to a 40-22 margin with 5:14 left. As they did at the end of the first quarter, USCA would have some late life as they narrowed the gap to 44-31 with just under two minutes to play. From there, the Lakers would take a 46-33 lead into the break.
 
It wouldn't take long for that margin to balloon to nearly 30 as Clayton State put together a 17-4 run that made it 63-37 with 3:06 to play in the third. In the highly competitive Peach Belt, however, no lead is safe and the Pacers would eventually close to 72-61 behind a 24-9 run culminating at the 3:02 mark. That would be as close as they would get though as the Lakers closed out the 76-61 victory minutes later.
 
Emry Tsitouris led the way for USCA with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds while Emily Waters had 13 points and five caroms. Jasmine Carter and Kwajelin Farrar contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers are now off until 2017 when they travel to rival Lander on January 4. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Greenwood, South Carolina.