Women's Basketball Senior Night Photo Gallery

MORROW, Ga. – In a game that decided the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship, No. 24 Clayton State (21-5, 15-4 PBC) could not withstand a second half comeback from No. 18/24 Columbus State (22-4, 16-3 PBC) as they fell 68-59 in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, February 24.
 
Senior guard Kenisha Jones-Barrett (Winter Haven, Fla.) led the way with 17 points and added three steals while redshirt-junior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) finished with 13 points. Senior center DaQuenna Moore (Plantersville, S.C.) ripped down 10 rebounds and senior forward Shay Upshaw (Tampa, Fla.) had eight points to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers came out of the gate like they were playing for a championship as they exploded for a 21-7 lead over the first seven-plus minutes. They would go on to close the quarter with a 25-14 advantage but that 7-4 stretch by Columbus turned into a 14-4 run that cut the deficit to 25-21 by the 5:42 mark of the second. Over the remainder of the half, the Cougars would outscore Clayton State 12-8 to close to within 33-31 by the break.
 
In the third, Columbus would continue that charge, tying the game on the opening bucket before the Lakers answered with the next four points for a 37-33 lead at the 8:43 mark. From there, the Cougars would put together a 16-6 stretch that would flip the script and leave them with a 49-43 lead with 8:09 to play.
 
Clayton State would cut the lead to three on three occasions before the Cougars made it 57-52 by the 4:51 mark. With 3:18 to play, redshirt-senior forward Jessica Covington (Tifton, Ga.) would knockdown a three to cut it to two but Columbus would answer right back with a three of their own to return to a five point lead. A bucket by Jones-Barrett sliced it to three, 60-57, but the Cougars would score eight of the final 10 points to secure the 68-59 victory.
 
Michelle Mitchell scored a game-high 25 points and added seven rebounds to pace Columbus State while Ashley Asouzu finished with 16 points, and 11 rebounds. Britteny Tatum had 12 points and five rebounds in 36 minutes and Gabby Williams added eight points and five rebounds.
 
With a 15-4 league record, the Lakers have earned the No. 2 seed in the 2016 Peach Belt Conference. They will host the No. 3 seed from the East Division, Francis Marion, on Saturday, February 27 at The Loch. Game time is yet to be determined.

NOTES
The game also served as Senior Night for the Lakers ... following the contest, seniors Keneshia Jones-Barrett, Shay Upshaw, DaQuenna Moore, Kayla Pryce and Jessica Covington were recognized for their contributions to the program ... each was playing in their final home regular season game.