MORROW, Ga. – There will once again be a familiar face in the field as, for the 12^th time in 13 seasons, No. 21 Clayton State women's basketball has been selected for the NCAA Division II Tournament and will face No. 11/24 Lincoln Memorial as the No. 6 seed on Friday, March 10. The Southeast Regional will be hosted by No. 4 Columbus State in Columbus, Georgia from March 10-13.
 
The Lakers earned the berth as an At-Large selection following a season that saw them go 24-6 and appear in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll and/or D2SIDA Media Poll a combined total of nine times in six different weeks. This year's 24 wins marks the 12^th season of at least 20 wins in the programs history. All have come in the last 13 years.
 
During the course of the season, Clayton State also knocked off four nationally ranked teams, defeating No. 11/12 Union, 98-90 in OT (11/28), No. 21 Anderson 84-73 (11/11) and No. 20/23 North Georgia, 63-62 (1/18). All three of those wins were either on the road or a neutral court.
 
An NCAA Tournament staple, Clayton State made "The Big Dance" 10 straight times from 2005-14, a stretch that included four Elite Eight trips and the 2011 National Championship. The latter is still the only Division II women's basketball national title claimed by a team out of the Southeast Region.
 
Kaleena Coleman, as a student-athlete, assistant coach or head coach, has been part of all 12 trips to the tournament, including last year's 11^th NCAA berth.
 
This season, a large part of the Lakers success has come from their upperclassmen. Leading the way is redshirt-senior forward Andrea Benford (Madison, Ga.), who was named an All-Peach Belt Conference Second-Team selection.
 
That makes her only the second player in the history of Clayton State basketball, men's or women's, to be named to three All-PBC Teams. She joins Tanisha Woodard who was selected to three straight from 2010-12. In 27 games she has averaged 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists and is 50 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
 
Another key piece to the Laker's success is redshirt-senior guard Tierra Johnson (Edison, N.J.), who was named to the All-PBC Third-Team despite seeing her season end due to injury on January 25. In 19 games she averaged a team-leading 16.8 points, 2.7 steals and 2.5 assists to go along with 3.7 rebounds, 31.7 minutes per game and a .504 mark from the field.
 
The top half of the region will feature Peach Belt Conference champion No. 4 Columbus State (28-1) as the No. 1 seed against No. 8 seed Anderson (21-6) and Wingate (25-5) as the No. 2 seed against No. 7 seed King (25-6).
 
In the lower half of the bracket, No. 3 seed Lincoln Memorial (26-4) faces No. 6 seed No. 21 Clayton State (24-6) and No. 4 seed Limestone (27-4) taking on No. 5 seed Lander (24-7). All games will be played at Columbus State's Lumpkin Center.
 
The Lakers are a combined 2-4 against the Southeast Region field this year with a win apiece over Wingate and Anderson. They were swept by both Columbus State and Lander in their only other games against the field. They did not face Limestone, Lincoln Memorial or King and, in fact, they have never faced the Tornado in the history of the program.

Clayton State matches up against the winner of the Wingate/King matchup should they win their first round game. The Lakers NCAA Tournament First Round game with LMU will take place on Friday, March 10 with a start time yet to be announced.
 
All-time, the Lakers are 2-1 against the Railsplitters dating back to the first meeting on November 20, 1994. LMU won that game 73-56 before the teams took a 13-year hiatus. When the series resumed, it was Clayton State earning a 74-63 win on November 16, 2007 and a 64-55 decision on December 29, 2010.

Stay tuned to www.ClaytonStateSports.com throughout the week for announcements on further developments concerning Clayton State's 12^th trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament in 13 years.
 
NCAA Division II Tournament History
2016 (Gaffney, S.C. - Limestone)
March 11 - No. 5S Anderson def. No. 4S Clayton State, 80-56
 
2014 (Hickory, N.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne)
March 14 - No. 7S Limestone def. No. 2S Clayton State, 75-65
 
2013 (Morrow, Ga. - Clayton State)
March 15 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 8S Mount Olive, 91-58
March 16 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 5S USC Aiken, 83-66
March 18 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 2S Limestone, 87-65#
March 26 - No. 7S Augustana def. No. 1S Clayton State, 81-68
 
2012
March 9 - No. 2S Clayton State def. No. 7S Tusculum, 51-26
March 10 - Wingate def. No. 2S Clayton State 64-63
 
2011
March 11 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 8S Francis Marion, 79-54
March 12 - No. 1S Clayton State def. Barton, 97-71
March 14 - No. 1S Clayton State def. Lander, 76-60#
March 22 - No. 1S Clayton State def.  Bentley, 84-61
March 23 - No. 1S Clayton State def. Shaw, 63-46
March 25 - No. 1S Clayton State def. Michigan Tech, 69-50%
 
2010
March 12 - Tusculum def. Clayton State, 69-63
 
2009
March 13 - Clayton State def. Carson-Newman, 68-66
March 14 - Clayton State def. Tusculum, 79-68
March 16 - Clayton State def. Francis Marion, 89-73#
March 24 - Alaska Anchorage def. Clayton State, 66-59
 
2008
March 14 - No. 3S Clayton State def. No. 6S Francis Marion, 88-69
March 15 - No. 3S Clayton State def. Lander, 82-73
March 17 - Wingate def. No. 3S Clayton State, 82-72
 
2007
March 9 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 8S Carson-Newman, 60-36
March 10 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 5S Columbus State, 63-60
March 12 - No. 1S Clayton State def. No. 6S Georgia College, 87-67#
March 21 - No. 1S Clayton State def. Texas A&M Commerce, 60-55
March 22 - Florida Gulf Coast def. No. 1S Clayton State, 61-57
 
2006
March 10 - Clayton State def. Johnson C. Smith, 76-52
March 11 - Wingate def. Clayton State, 67-64
 
2005
March 11 - Clayton State def. Newberry, 79-54
March 12 - Carson-Newman def. Clayton State, 75-61
%NCAA Division II National Champions
#NCAA Division II Southeast Region Champions