DAHLONEGA, Ga. – A total of 10 three-pointers and a pair of impressive scoring efforts fueled Clayton State's (4-2, 0-0 PBC) 78-68 victory over No. 20 Carson-Newman (4-1, 0-0 SAC) in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Friday, November 22 as part of the North Georgia Classic.
 
Senior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) knocked down 5-of-10 three pointers to lead all scorers with 21 points while senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) finished with 20 points, a career-high seven assists and six rebounds. Redshirt-senior forward Jhade Hayes (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) added 11 points, six caroms and three assists in 18 minutes.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) and redshirt-junior forward Dejah Montgomery (Cordova, Tenn.) each had nine points and five rebounds and added four and three assists, respectively. Senior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) had six points and seven boards to round out the top performers.
 
Trailing 8-3 after the first 3:10, Clayton State rallied to take a 9-8 lead less than a minute later behind back-to-back threes from Wilson and Christal Williams before the lead changed hands five times in the next three minutes. That would wind up with CNU holding a 16-14 advantage at 3:22 before they wrapped the frame up 22-18.
 
The Eagles would stretch that to an eight point spread, 26-18, over the first 1:40 of the second quarter but the Lakers would not go away. By the 4:34 mark they had battled back to tie it at 30-30 and would find themselves down just 38-35 at the break.
 
Down five at 42-37 just under a minute into the second half, Clayton State rallied to tie it again, this time at 44-44 with 5:23 on the clock.
 
A traditional three-point play by Kayla Marosites would give Carson-Newman a three-point lead but, not only would they not expand it, they would lose it as a 6-2 burst put the Lakers ahead 50-49 with 2:18 remaining in the frame. A three by Abby Wilson then flipped the script and before a layup by Montgomery ignited a 6-0 run for a 56-52 lead heading to the fourth.
 
It would take nearly the first half of that period but CNU managed to regain the lead at 62-61 with 5:45 left as the Marosites sisters combined for eight points in a 10-6 stretch. It would be short lived and the last one they would have, however, as Towns drained back-to-back threes and a bucket by Christal Williams fueled an 8-0 run that made it 69-62. From there Clayton State would not allow them within more than five points as they salted away the 78-68 victory.
 
Kayla Marosites led the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Tori Griffin had 13 points. Kelci Marosites added eight points and Braelyn Wykle had seven points, three steals, three assists and three boards. Harli Smith chipped in with six points, five caroms and three assists and Addison Byrd and Wilson each had six points.
 
The Lakers are back in action tomorrow when they take on Life for the first time in program history. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
NOTES
The victory is the 31^st over a nationally ranked opponent in program history … it is the highest win over a ranked foe since a 98-90 double overtime victory at No. 11/12 Union on November 26, 2016 … that same season they also defeated No. 20/23 North Georgia by a 63-62 score.