AMERICUS, Ga. – Clayton State (8-9, 5-6 PBC) could not recover from an early second half run as Georgia Southwestern (6-10, 3-9 PBC) held on for a 58-52 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, January 24.
 
Freshman guard Dalania Clardy (Riverdale, Ga.) led the Lakers with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, hauled in five rebounds, dished out a pair of assists and had a career-best three steals.
 
Junior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) finished with 13 points and eight caroms and freshman guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) had four steals, four boards and four assists. Junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) ripped down 10 rebounds to go with six points and redshirt-junior center Shaquoria Miles (Garysburg, N.C.) rounded things out with seven points and five caroms.
 
Clayton State jumped out to the early 10-4 lead over the first 4:39 before GSW responded with a 7-2 stretch to end the opening period with the score at 12-11. That run would eventually grow to 11-2 through the first minute of the second quarter, leaving the Hurricanes ahead 15-12 at the 9:07 mark.
 
A minute and a half later a triple by junior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) quelled that run and prompted a scoreless stretch for both teams over the next of 1:33. It would be Georgia Southwestern that would break the drought, hitting on back-to-back layups to spur a 10-5 stretch that left them with a 25-20 advantage with 1:38 left in the half. From there they would head to the break holding a 29-24 margin.
 
The Lakers came out of the locker room in an offensive state of mind as they used a 7-2 burst to knot things up at 31-31 just 2:15 in. The Hurricanes then scored 10 of the next 16 points to take a 41-37 lead at the 3:50 mark and, with neither team able to get a bucket the rest of the way, take that four point margin into the final period.
 
Over the first 7:18 of the frame, GSW outscored Clayton State 12-5 to extend to what would be an insurmountable 53-42 lead. From there they would hold off a late charge to secure the 58-52 victory.
 
Tamecia Blue led the Hurricanes with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Amanda Melosky just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 boards. They were joined by Tyisha Moore with eight points and seven caroms and Mariya Trimble with seven points and seven rebounds.
 
The Lakers return home on Saturday, January 27 as they host Columbus State. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. at The Loch.
 
NOTES
Clardy surpassed her previous career-high of 10 points set at Fort Valley State on December 13, 2017 … her three steals were one better than her previous best of two set twice earlier this season.