MORROW, Ga. – In their Peach Belt Conference opener, Clayton State (2-4, 0-1 PBC) battled Flagler College (3-1, 1-0 PBC) through two overtimes before finally falling 97-91 in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, December 2.
 
Junior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) led the Lakers with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with six boards while junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
 
Senior guard Aysia Grimsley (Marietta, Ga.) added 12 points and five caroms and senior guard Mercedes Jenkins (Jonesboro, Ga.) had six points, five rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals. Junior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) had 10 points and redshirt-junior center Shaquoria Miles (Garysburg, N.C.) finished with nine points and five boards.
 
Clayton State jumped out to the early lead as they scored the first eight points and eventually pushed to a 15-5 advantage by the 4:36 mark. The Saints would recover, however, as they answered with a 17-3 run to close the opening quarter trailing 22-18.
 
It would be a game of back-and-forth over the first two minutes of the second as the Lakers extended to a 24-18 margin only to see FC close to within 26-24 by the 7:59 mark. A 6-1 burst then gave them a 32-25 lead before they closed the half with a 37-32 advantage.
 
With the score at 41-35 with just under a minute gone by in the third quarter, the Saints found their offense as they mounted a 12-5 run to pull ahead 47-46 with 3:39 on the clock. After the Lakers tied it briefly, Flagler used a traditional three-point play by Alex Alford to take a 50-47 lead.
 
From there it would be a whirlwind as the lead changed hands six times and was deadlocked three times, including at 58-58 at the end of the third. Clayton State would use a 6-0 run to start the fourth and take a 64-58 lead before Flagler came charging back with an 11-2 stretch to flip the script at 69-66 with 4:17 on the clock.
 
The Lakers would rally to tie it at 73-73 with 1:11 left on a layup by Merriweather before Bri Roberts converted a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation to give FC a two point lead. At the other end, Clayton State's Grimsley drove to the hoop and was fouled with six tenths of a second on the clock. She would go to the line and calmly sink both to send the game to overtime.
 
In that extra session it would be an all-out tug-of-war as the teams battled through eight lead changes before knotting at 84-84 to head to a second overtime. That final five minutes would be Clayton State's undoing as Flagler surged out to a 94-84 lead on their way to a 97-91 double overtime victory.
 
Tabitha Odabe nearly had a rare triple-double as she led Flagler with eight points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks in just 24 minutes while Bri Roberts lit it up for a game-high 31 points with seven caroms in 48 minutes. Tiffany Hodge had 19 points and eight rebounds and Malaysia Robinson chipped in with 14 points and five boards. Alford wrapped up the top performers with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
The Lakers are now off until Wednesday, December 13 when they travel to Fort Valley State. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Fort Valley, Georgia.