JEFFERSON, Tenn. – Taking on one of the best teams in the country Clayton State (2-2, 0-0 PBC) not only did not flinch, they played some of their best basketball as they battled No. 3 Carson-Newman (5-0, 0-0 SAC), on the road, before dropping a narrow 90-86 decision in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Tuesday, November 20.
 
Senior center Aleisha Merriweather (Augusta, Ga.) delivered the best game of her career as she nearly came away with a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 10 boards and seven steals. Her point total equaled her career-high set against Flagler on December 2, 2017 while she shattered her previous steal mark of four.
 
Hardly the only top performer, junior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) could lay claim to the best game of her young career as well. In only 23 minutes she produced a career-best 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting to go with four caroms and an assist.
 
Redshirt-junior guard Madison Newby (Lawrenceville, Ga.) added 13 points and junior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) finished with nine points, five rebounds and three steals, all of which were career-highs. Senior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) contributed eight points and redshirt-senior guard Monica Alexander (Richmond, Va.) and sophomore guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) each dished out five assists.
 
Clayton State would take the early lead at 5-2 over the first 1:43 before CNU responded with a 6-0 burst to take the lead at 8-5 with 5:42 on the clock. A triple by senior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) would tie it up seconds later but the Eagles would use a 6-2 mini run to make it 14-10 with just under four minutes gone by.
 
Three points from Williams cut it to a one point margin but five points from Tori Griffin made it 19-13 at the 1:58 mark. Merriweather answered with a traditional three-point play as the Lakers closed the opening period down just 20-16.
 
A fast break bucket from Alexander made it a two point game in the first minute of the second but an 8-0 flurry by Carson-Newman pushed their lead back to 28-19 with 6:28 left in the half.
 
The Lakers would soon show, however, that the No. 3 team in the country wasn't the only one that could mount an impressive run – and that they could do it better. Over the next 5:14 Wilson would drop six points and Williams four as Clayton State put together a dominant 11-0 stretch that gave them a 30-28 lead. CNU would finally break the run with a pair of free throws at the 25 second mark to send the clubs to the break knotted at 30-30.
 
That would change quickly in the third period as the Eagles scored 17 of the first 26 points to pull back ahead 47-39 with 5:26 on the clock. The Lakers would rebound as they cut the deficit to four, 53-49, with 2:02 left before Haris Price notched back-to-back buckets to close the frame at 57-49.
 
Trailing by 10 after a basket to open the final frame, Clayton State answered back over the first 1:50 of the frame. A three by Merriweather and five points from Wilson then sliced the lead to 59-57 and got the Lakers right back in it when they needed it most.
 
With the score at 64-61 Newby made it a one point game with a dash to the basket at 5:58 but CNU would come right back with a 10-2 burst that extended to a 74-65 margin with just under four minutes to play. That lead would eventually grow to 11 points at 80-69 before Clayton State narrowed the gap to five points on a pair of occasions, the last of those at 86-81 with 36 seconds left.
 
Following a pair of Eagle free throws, they would finally get over that hump as a triple by Wilson cut it to 88-84 at the 13 second mark. Needing to foul to extend the game, they found themselves down six after another pair of CNU makes but did manage to cut it to the eventual final margin of 90-86 on a closing layup.
 
Price led all scorers with 31 points, going a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line and 8-of-14 from the field, while notching six assists, three boards and a pair of steals. She was joined by Kelci Marosites with 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals while her sister Kayla came away with seven points and seven boards. Griffin rounded things out with nine points and four caroms.
 
The Lakers remain on the road as they head to Shorter for a non-conference contest on Tuesday, November 27. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Rome, Georgia.
 
NOTES
Entering the game, CNU had a 26 game winning streak at Holt Fieldhouse, making it the third longest active stretch in the country … the only other programs with longer streaks are Connecticut and Lamar … the Lakers were previously undefeated in three meetings against No. 3 ranked teams … those were a 56-50 win at USC Aiken (1/16/13), 72-65 over Tusculum (11/21/10) and a 69-50 decision against Michigan Tech (3/25/11) … the latter came in the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship Game … in the first half, Clayton State forced an impressive 17 turnovers, finishing with 22 for the game.