COLUMBUS, Ga. – In a battle of the top two teams in the Peach Belt Conference, Clayton State (19-5, 11-4 PBC) found themselves down right from the beginning and could not recover as No. 7/9 Columbus State (21-1, 15-1 PBC) to earn a 100-69 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, February 8.
 
Junior guard Jimecheia Banks (Phenix, City, Ala.) led the way with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists while senior guard Shakira Walker (Coral Springs, Fla.) delivered career-highs of 13 points, five boards and three assists and equaled her personal best with three steals. Junior guard Monica Alexander (Richmond, Va.) rounded things out with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
 
The Cougars came out of the gate on fire as they roared out to an 18-5 lead over the first 5:58. Clayton State would then step up defensively and close the gap to 22-13 by the 1:12 mark before Columbus State closed the opening period with a 26-15 lead.
 
Over the first five minutes of the second quarter the Lakers would close to within seven points at 32-25 but it would not last. Over the final 5:02 the Cougars responded with a 16-6 run that pushed their lead to 48-31 heading into the break.
 
That margin would get no smaller in the second half as Columbus State surged out to a 73-48 margin as they scored 25 of the first 42 points. From there they would go on to secure the 100-69 victory and the top seed in the PBC West Division.
 
Britteny Tatum led the Cougars with a game-high 24 points and four assists while Ashley Asouzu finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, seven off of the offensive glass. Both players surpassed 1,000 career points in the game. They were joined by Alexis Carter with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Gabby Williams with 10 points and five caroms. Keyrra Gillespie closed things out with seven points, six assists and five boards.
 
The Lakers are back in action when they return to Morrow for Homecoming against Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, February 11. Tip-off is set for a special time of 3:30 p.m. at The Loch.