MORROW, Ga. – A 46 point second half and a 26-11 run fueled a 79-63 victory for No. 23 Clayton State (11-3, 3-2 PBC) over Augusta (6-6, 1-5 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Monday, January 9.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.) exploded for 26 points with five rebounds and three assists to lead the Lakers while redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.
 
They were joined by senior center Rayven Thomas (North Las Vegas, Nev.) with 10 points and seven caroms and junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) with eight points, seven boards, three steals and a pair of assists.
 
Neither team would gain a significant advantage in the first half as the clubs deadlocked five times and saw the lead change hands a total of seven times. Augusta would hold a five point lead, 19-14 at the 9:57 mark as the largest margin of the half while the Lakers would manage a three point advantage at 30-27. The teams would head to the break with the Jaguars holding a narrow 34-33 lead.
 
The third quarter would be a different story as Clayton State asserted themselves throughout. After deadlocking at 37-37, the Lakers would take 18 of the next 29 points to pull ahead 55-48 by the end of the period.
 
They would make it a 26-11 overall run with the first eight points of the fourth as they extended to a 63-48 margin with 8:19 to play. From there they would roll through the rest of the period to close out the 79-63 victory.
 
Breonna O'Conner put up 16 points and pulled down six boards to lead Augusta while Abrea Harris finished with 17 points. Cynara Pitt added nine points and six rebounds and Brianna Middleton had nine boards to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers are back in action on Saturday, January 14 when they head to Armstrong State. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. in Savannah, Georgia.

NOTES
The victory is the 50th in the head coaching career of Kaleena Coleman, all with Clayton State ... taking over as head coach in the 2014-15 season, she won 17 games that year before notching 22 last season.