MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (8-10, 5-7 PBC) could not hold a slim fourth quarter lead as Columbus State (10-7, 8-5 PBC) used 24 points in the final frame to earn a 70-59 victory in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, January 27.
 
Junior forward Abreyln Rackley (St. Louis, Mo.) led the way with a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards while freshman guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) delivered an all-around game of five points, three steals, five assists and four rebounds.
 
Junior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) and junior guard Aysia Grimsley (Marietta, Ga.) added 13 and 11 points, respectively and junior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) chipped in with six points, four caroms and three assists.
 
Over the first 7:47 of the game the teams would deadlock six times before winding up at 13-13. From there the Cougars would use a 10-4 run to pull ahead 23-13 just 10 seconds into the second quarter. Clayton State would then respond with a 17-5 outburst over the final 9:50 to take a narrow 30-28 lead into the half.
 
Columbus State would use a 9-3 stretch to start the second half and flip the script to make it 37-33 with seven minutes on the clock. Trailing 42-39 at the 3:23 mark, the Lakers again showed late life at the end of the frame, outscoring the Cougars 8-4 to take a 47-46 lead into the fourth.
 
Things would change drastically over that final 10 minutes, however, as Columbus scored 24 points to the Lakers 12. That included a 13-2 stretch to start the period that gave them back the lead at 60-50 with 5:55 left. From there, Clayton State would get no closer than seven points as the Cougars escaped with the 70-59 victory.
 
Machala Raymonville led Columbus State with a game-high 26 points to go with four boards, three steals and a pair of assists while Jasmine Herndon just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Eboni Williams and Tatiana Wayne each chipped in with 10 points and Tatum Jarvis had seven points and four caroms.
 
The Lakers continue their mini homestand as they host North Georgia at The Loch on Monday, January 27. Rescheduled from January 17 due to weather, game time is set for 5:30 p.m.