SAVANNAH, Ga. – Despite a lengthy fourth quarter delay, Clayton State (12-3, 4-2 PBC) recovered from a second half deficit to down Armstrong State (6-9, 2-4 PBC) by a 61-55 score in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 14.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) led the way with her first career double-double as she finished with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds along with three steals and a pair of assists. She was joined by redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) with 19 points and eight boards and senior center Rayven Thomas (North Las Vegas, Nev.) with seven caroms.
 
The Lakers would take the early lead off of an opening three-pointer but the teams would be separated by no more than four points over the first five minutes. The game would remain tightly contested through the first quarter with ASU closing to within one on three occasions before Clayton State closed the frame with a 15-12 advantage.
 
They would extend to a 19-13 margin before a 14-2 burst by the Pirates flipped the script and gave them a 27-21 lead at the 3:29 mark. From there they would go on to close the half with an overall run of 20-8 to take a 33-27 margin into the break.
 
Over the first four and a half minutes of the second half, Clayton State would score 10 of the first 15 points to pull to within one at 38-37. Following a pair of Armstrong free throws, the Lakers then scored nine straight points behind six points from Benford to finally regain the lead at 46-40 with 1:32 left in the third.
 
After ASU pulled to within 47-43 at the end of the period the Lakers responded by pushing their lead to 55-48 with 4:50 on the clock. With 3:43 on the clock and the Pirates at the line an electrical fire under the bleachers behind the scorer's table interrupted power and led to the arena being evacuated as a precaution. The ensuing delay would last until 4:43 p.m. and encompassed an hour and 10 minutes.
 
With the resumption of play, Clayton State stretched their advantage to 59-51 by the 1:45 mark. From there they would close out the 61-55 victory behind solid defense the rest of the way.
 
Mercedes Jenkins led the way for the Pirates with 16 points, six boards and four assists while Machala Raymonville had 14 points. Kasey Drayton and Deundria Clark rounded things out with 14 points and seven rebounds and six points and eight caroms, respectively.
 
The Lakers return home for a Martin Luther King Day matinee when they host Flagler on Monday, January 16. Game time is set for a special 1:30 p.m. tip-off at The Loch.
 
NOTES
The game was delayed by a minor electrical fire inside Alumni Arena with 3:43 remaining the fourth quarter … at that point Clayton State was leading 55-48 … the delay lasted until 4:43 p.m. and was an hour and 10 minutes long.