MELBOURNE, Fla. – A dominant second half, particularly the third quarter, and a balanced attack fueled Clayton State (3-2, 0-0 PBC) as they demolished Florida Tech (2-2, 0-0 SSC) by a 75-53 score in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, November 16.
 
Redshirt-junior forward Dejah Montgomery (Cordova, Tenn.) powered that effort with her first double-double of her career as she finished with 12 points, 10 boards, five of which were offensive, and a pair of steals. She was joined by senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) who added a team-high 13 points and four steals.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) produced an extremely effect effort with 12 points and a pair of steals in just 13 minutes and junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and four caroms. Junior forward Jada Francois Lubin (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
The Panthers would be the ones that would open strong out of the gate as they took a 9-6 lead by the 2:48 mark before extending to a 12-6 advantage just over two minutes later. After closing the first quarter up five, the lead would narrow to just 16-13 with 6:04 left in the first half. And then it would disappear.
 
Fueled by three different players putting up four points apiece, Clayton State would use an 18-4 run to go from down three to up 11 at 31-20 by the close of the half. It would be a trend that would not only continue in the second half but ignite even further.
 
After FIT cut the margin to nine with a pair of free throws in the opening minute the Lakers would take complete command with a devastating 23-7 run over the next 7:22. That surge would see Christal Williams with seven points, Wilson with five and Montgomery with four and blow things wide open at 54-29 with 1:59 to play. They would go on to close the quarter with a 57-31 spread.
 
Up 63-37 with just over two and a half minutes gone by in the final frame, Clayton State would see the first real signs of life from the Panthers since the first quarter. Over a span of just 1:20 they would put string together an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 18 points at 63-45 with 6:06 to play.
 
Four straight free throws from Montgomery, however, would squelch that rally and push the lead back over 20 points, a margin that they would not fall below again the rest of the way as they closed out the 75-53 victory.
 
Amanda Allen led all scorers with 15 points to go with five steals and Aniquah Swan finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals. Severine Uggen had nine points and Fanny Hakanson notched seven points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
The Lakers continue their tournament road show as they return closer to home with the North Georgia Classic from November 22-23. They will open against Carson-Newman at 3:30 p.m. on the first day before taking on Life at 1:30 p.m. for the first time in program history the following day.
 
NOTES
The victory is the first over Florida Tech in program history … previously the teams had met on November 28, 2014 in Boca Raton, Florida … the Panthers claimed a 75-61 victory that day.