MORROW, Ga. – In their final game of the regular season, Clayton State (23-5, 15-4 PBC) faced a stiff test from Montevallo (5-21, 2-17 PBC) as they pulled out a 54-51 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, February 22.
 
Redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) led the charge with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds while senior center Rayven Thomas (North Las Vegas, Nev.) finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Redshirt-senior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) added eight points and three steals and junior guard Jimecheia Banks (Phenix, City, Ala.) chipped in with six points and a pair of assists.
 
Neither team would gain command in a first half that saw four ties and just as many lead changes. Over the first 20 minutes, Clayton State would take a 14-8 lead by the 3:35 mark of the first but UM would rally with a 9-3 burst to tie it at the end of the opening quarter.
 
The Lakers would use a 7-2 run to open the second and retake the lead at 24-19 but the Falcons would answer once again. This time they scored seven straight to take a 26-24 lead into the break.
 
The second half would see a pair of ties and three lead changes over the first 4:23, with that last lead change would coming with the score tied at 31-31. From there Clayton State would use a 10-2 run over the next 4:29 to take a 41-33 lead.
 
That lead would be 50-42 with 2:33 to play before UM made its move. Four free throws and a jumper would key a 6-2 run that pulled them to within 52-48 with 33 seconds to play. That would be as close as they would get, however, the Lakers would knock down two free throws of their own that made the Falcons late three-pointer meaningless in a 54-51 victory.
 
Albanellys Perez notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards while D'Miyah Foster had 12 points and four rebounds. They were joined by Jazmin Stubblefield with seven points, seven caroms, three assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Ashley Dunstan added eight points to round things out.
 
The Lakers have earned the No. 2 Seed out of the Peach Belt Conference West Division and will host No. 3E Seed UNC Pembroke on Saturday, February 25. Game time is yet to be determined.
 
NOTES
Prior to the game, Clayton State recognized seven seniors that included Dejoun Dennard, Tweety Hawkins, Rayven Thomas, Shakira Walker, Ashely Cunningham, Andrea Benford and Tierra Johnson.