ATLANTA, Ga. – In their first time taking the court with nearly half a new team, Clayton State (0-0, 0-0 PBC) rallied from a 17 point first quarter deficit to within nine points three times to push Division I Georgia Tech (0-0, 0-0 ACC) before falling by a 73-35 score in an NCAA women's basketball exhibition game on Wednesday, October 30.
 
Senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) led the Lakers with seven points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal while junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) finished with eight points and three caroms. Senior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) chipped in with eight points behind a pair of threes and redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) rounded out the top performers with six points, three boards and a steal in 23 minutes.
 
Facing a major Division I program headed by a coaching legend in Nell Fortner, Clayton State fell behind early as the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a commanding 19-2 lead with 1:15 remaining in the first period. A 6-0 burst would bridge the first and second quarters and cut the deficit to 19-8 and the Lakers would maintain that 11 point margin, 25-14, at the half.
 
In the third they would pull to within nine points on three occasions, the last at 33-24 with 4:54 remaining. From there, however, Georgia Tech would flex their muscle as a four-point play by Francesca Pan ignited a 14-2 run that closed the quarter and stretched the lead to 47-26. The final frame would not be any kinder as the Yellow Jackets outscored the Lakers 26-9 to close out the 73-35 victory.
 
Pan let GT with a game-high 24 points to go with four assists and as many rebounds while Jasmine Carson added 15 points and three steals. Nerea Hermosa Monreal ripped down 11 boards along with three assists and four points and Lorela Cubaj flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, six assists, six boards, two steals and a pair of blocks.
 
Clayton State now has nine days until they open the regular season when they travel to Anderson, South Carolina for the 2019 SAC/Peach Belt Conference Challenge from November 8-9. They will open with Wingate on the first day before taking on host Anderson the following day. Both games are set for 1:30 p.m.