PEMBROKE, N.C. – In a game that came down to the wire, Clayton State (8-8, 5-5 PBC) showed their mental toughness as they outlasted UNC Pembroke (6-9, 4-7 PBC) to earn a key 71-69 Peach Belt Conference victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 20.
 
Junior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) knocked down the game-winning three-pointer in the final minute and scored a career-high 16 points, including four triples, to go with three steals and a pair of assists to lead the Lakers. Junior guard Aysia Grimsley (Marietta, Ga.) notched a team-high 17 points, marking her fifth game in double-figures in her last six outings.
 
They were joined by junior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) with 13 points, four boards and three steals and junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) with six points, five caroms and career-best four assists. Junior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) added seven points and five rebounds and redshirt-junior guard Kietta Saunders (Chicago, Ill.) dished out five assists.
 
Both teams would find their offense early on as they combined for nearly 40 points, deadlocked three times and saw the lead change hands five times. That flurry would see both teams manage one four point lead apiece before Clayton State managed a narrow 20-19 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Lakers began their charge to the lead trailing 17-13 with 2:33 left in the first. From that point they exploded for a 16-2 run that propelled them to a 29-19 margin by the 7:47 mark of the second period. The Braves responded with an 8-2 stretch of their own to cut it to 31-27 just over three minutes later.
 
It would continue to be a tug-of-war as Clayton State fought off a feisty UNCP team to get the lead back to seven points, 35-28, with 3:49 left in the first half before eventually closing the frame with a slim 35-32 advantage.
 
The lead would fluctuate between one and four points until a three by Grimsley extended to a 43-36 margin at 4:21 of the third quarter. A matching three followed by a traditional three-point play by Jillian Ebron then cut it to a one point deficit before the Lakers made it 50-45 with 1:35 left in the frame. UNCP would come right back, however, as four straight free throws along with a triple by Ebone Stevens catapulted them to a 52-51 lead entering the fourth.
 
The clubs would trade the first three baskets of the final period before the Braves tied it at 56-56 and took a three point lead on another Ebron old fashioned three point play. Trailing by four, 60-56, Clayton State surged back to score 12 of the next 20 points to knot it up at 68-68 with 1:33 left.
 
Stevens would go 1-of-2 at the foul line 43 seconds later to give UNCP a narrow one point lead but the Lakers would not be deterred. At the other end, Saunders found Bland beyond the arc for the go-ahead three-pointer to make it 71-69 with 37 seconds left.
 
Following a 30-second timeout, the Braves ran the clock down to four seconds before firing off a jumper that was off the mark and landed in the hands of Johnson to seal the hard fought two point victory.
 
Nyla Allen led UNC Pembroke with a game-high 22 points, nine boards and a pair of assists while Kasey Drayton and Ebron each finished with 11 points. Aliyah Farmer went 4-of-5 from the floor for nine points and Stevens chipped in with six points, four caroms and two assists. Tee Graham rounded things out with five assists and five points.
 
The Lakers remain on the road as they travel to Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, January 24. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Americus, Georgia.
 
NOTES
The victory keeps Clayton State in the seventh spot in the standings and ahead of both UNCP and Young Harris … the latter two are now tied for the eighth and final spot in the 2018 Peach Belt Conference Tournament.