MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – In a back-and-forth affair, Clayton State (6-7, 3-4 PBC) battled Georgia College (8-5, 5-2 PBC) for a full 40 minutes before dropping a narrow 69-67 decision in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, January 10.
 
Junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) delivered the best game of her career as she produced a career-high 21 points along with 11 boards and three steals. Meanwhile freshman guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) did the same with career-bests of 14 points, six rebounds and five assists to go along with three steals. Junior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) added 14 points, four caroms and three assists and junior guard Aysia Grimsley (Marietta, Ga.) chipped in with eight points.
 
The teams would be evenly matched over the first 10 minutes but neither would produce high levels of offense during that time. Clayton State would take a 6-2 lead by the 7:34 mark before GC responded with back-to-back buckets to knot it at 6-6 less than a minute later.
 
Clayton State would pull back ahead, 10-8, largely behind the play of Foster who scored eight of her team's points over the first seven-plus minutes. From there the Lakers close the frame with a narrow 12-10 advantage.
 
Following a three by Grimsley to stretch to a five point advantage at the start of the second quarter, the Bobcats would surge back with six straight points to make it 16-15 by the 7:53 mark. That would kick off a flurry of three lead changes and as many ties before Clayton State pulled ahead 25-22 on a three-pointer by junior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) with 4:22 on the clock. GC would then close the half by scoring seven of the final 11 points to send the teams to the break at deadlocked at 29-29.
 
Georgia College would use a 7-2 burst at the start of the second half to take a 36-31 lead with just over four minutes gone by before the Lakers rallied to within one, 38-37, with 3:41 left in the quarter. Five straight points would then push to a 43-37 advantage but would be quickly answered by consecutive triples by Rackley and Bland to lock things up at 43-43 by the 1:31 mark. The teams would remain the rest of the frame as the Bobcats managed a narrow 47-46 lead entering the fourth.
 
That would not last long as Rackley set two new career-highs on one play as she knocked down her third three to give her 21 points and Clayton State a 49-47 lead in the opening seconds of the final period.  An old school three-point play on the heels of that then extended to a five point margin before the Bobcats battled back to take a 59-57 lead with 4:32 left.
 
Clayton State would tie it up on a bucket by junior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) but GC responded with a 6-1 stretch to pull back ahead at 65-60 at the 1:52 mark. That margin would grow to 68-61 but the Lakers would cut it to four behind three straight Bland free throws with 22 seconds left.
 
Following a Bobcat free throw Grimsley would drain a three to cut it to 69-67 with nine seconds to play but Clayton State could not get the foul in the back court as Georgia College closed out the two point win.
 
Ta'Asia Wright led the Bobcats with 17 points and eight rebounds while Erin Drynan finished with 14 points and caroms of her own. Brianna Davis finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Sydney Cleveland had eight points, seven boards and four assists. Shay Traver rounded things out with nine points.
 
The Lakers return home for a three game homestand that kicks off on Saturday, January 13 when they host USC Aiken. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. at The Loch.
 
NOTES
Rackley surpassed her previous scoring best of 18 points set at USC Aiken on December 16, 2017 … her three three-pointers bested her career mark of two which she accomplished four times before.