MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – In their final regular season road game, Clayton State (22-5, 14-4 PBC) had all they could handle from Georgia College (15-10, 9-9 PBC) as they pulled out a 57-55 victory in the final seconds in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, February 18.
 
Redshirt-senior forward Ashley Cunningham (Douglasville, Ga.) scored nine points and ripped down a career-high tying 11 rebounds to go with three assists while redshirt-senior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Senior guard Dejoun Dennard (Tampa, Fla.) added 11 points and five boards while redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) came away with nine points, seven caroms and three steals to round things out.
 
Fighting for the final spot in the 2017 Peach Belt Conference Tournament, the Bobcats jumped out to an 8-2 lead over the first 4:37. Clayton State then responded with a 7-3 stretch to cut it to 11-9 by the 2:44 mark.
 
GC would stretch that margin to 20-13 over the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter and maintain that seven point lead, 24-17, with just under six minutes on the clock. The Lakers would respond with a 9-4 run to pull to within 28-26 with 36 seconds left before Georgia College picked up a bucket to head to the half with a 30-26 advantage.
 
Things would turn dramatically at the start of the second half. Following a Bobcat basket, Clayton State erupted for an unchecked 13-0 run that gave them a 39-32 lead by the 6:28 mark. GC would answer with six straight points to cut it to one and eventually tie it up at 41-41 before the Lakers ended the frame with a 44-42 lead.
 
With the margin at five, Georgia College would stage an 8-0 rally that flipped the script and gave them a 50-47 lead. It wouldn't stay that way for long as the Lakers knotted it up at 50-50 with 5:51 to play. The teams would trade the next two buckets to remain deadlocked before the Bobcats pulled ahead by one, 53-52, on a free throw with 3:35 to play.
 
Things would only be getting started at that point, however. Just under a minute later, Cunningham hit a pair of free throws to give Clayton State a one point lead before both team's defenses locked down. With 47 seconds to go it would be the Lakers defense that turned in an offensive opportunity.
 
As GC penetrated to the basket, Benford stepped in front of a pass from the baseline into the paint and raced down court. As she went up for a layup she was grabbed by a Bobcat defender for what would be an intentional foul. She would go on to split the two ensuing free throws for a 55-53 lead with 44.1 on the clock.
 
Clayton State, with possession of the ball following the intentional, ran the clock down but could not convert on a three with 26.1 left. It would be Georgia College's turn to get into the offensive end quickly as a kick out to the top of the key found Alyah McGriff, who buried a tying jumper with 20.6 on the clock to tie it up at 55-55.
 
With the shot clock off, the Lakers once again ran the clock down at the other end. With the ball in the hands of Hawkins at the top of the arc, it looked like a three was on its way until she rifled a pass down low past the defense.
 
There she found Benford on the right block, who then laid it up and in for a 57-55 lead with 1.4 to go. GC would fire of a desperation three-quarters court attempt that bounced off the top of the backboard, sealing the hard fought two point victory.
 
McGriff led all scorers with 17 points and added seven boards, four blocks and four steals while Brianna Davis had 12 points and three steals. Sydney Cleveland just missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds with three steals and Shay Tarver chipped in with five points and four assists. Ta'Asia Wright added eight rebounds.
 
The Lakers close out the regular season on Wednesday, February 22 when they host Montevallo on Senior Day. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. at The Loch.
 
NOTES
The win is the 22^nd of the season for the Lakers, equaling last year's total … it also matches the most that Kaleena Coleman has had as head coach of Clayton State … Cunningham tied her personal best in rebounding with 11 caroms, matching her mark from November 28, 2014 against Florida Tech.