MORROW, Ga. – After a slow start, Clayton State (24-5, 15-4 PBC) turned it on in the second half to power past UNC Pembroke (15-12, 10-9 PBC) to earn a 72-49 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, February 25. The game was the Quarterfinal round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Tweety Hawkins (Madison, Ga.) led the way with a game-high 15 points while redshirt-senior forward Ashley Cunningham (Douglasville, Ga.) finished with 10 points and nine boards in 27 minutes.
 
They were joined by senior center Rayven Thomas (North Las Vegas, Nev.) with eight points, seven caroms and three steals and redshirt-senior center Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.) added seven points and six boards. Senior guard Shakira Walker (Coral Springs, Fla.) rounded out the top performers with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with three boards.
 
Clayton State would notch an early 5-1 lead over the first 2:07 before UNCP responded with a 9-2 run over the next 5:26 to take a 10-7 advantage. That margin would grow to 18-11 with 8:18 left in the half before the Lakers erupted for a 20-4 run that flipped the script and gave them a 31-22 lead heading into the break.
 
That would turn into an overall run of 25-4 as Clayton State scored the first five points of the third quarter to stretch to a 14 point lead with in the first minute. UNCP would cut into the deficit, getting it to 10 before an 11-5 stretch extended to 47-29 margin with 4:21 left in the period.
 
From there they would go on to close the frame with a 53-37 lead before eventually expanding that margin to 67-44 with 2:58 remaining. That would be all she wrote for the Braves as the Lakers polished off the commanding 72-49 victory.
 
LaShonda Prichard led UNCP with 13 points and Nyla Allen added 10 points and eight rebounds. Jasmine Huntley chipped in with eight points and Brianna Baham finished with six points and five caroms.
 
The Lakers will now advance to face the top seed in the East Division, Lander, on Saturday, March 4. The Bearcats earned the right to host not only that game but the PBC Final Four for both men's and women's by virtue of being the highest remaining seed out of the East Division. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
 
NOTES
The semifinal meeting with Lander will be a rematch of last year's semifinal contest held at Columbus State.