MORROW, Ga. – An early run set the tone for the night as Clayton State (13-7, 9-5 PBC) powered past Young Harris (3-18, 1-14 PBC) by a 74-58 score in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, February 6.
 
Redshirt-junior guard Madison Newby (Lawrenceville, Ga.) delivered a sterling performance as she equaled her career-high with 20 points and five steals and added five boards to pace the Lakers. Redshirt-senior guard Monica Alexander (Richmond, Va.) drained four three-pointers on her way to 12 points and junior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) finished with 10 points.
 
Junior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) chipped in with eight points and five rebounds and senior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) and sophomore guard Dalania Clardy (Riverdale, Ga.) added seven and six points, respectively. Sophomore guard Tatiana Foster (Atlanta, Ga.) rounded things out with a game-high five assists.
 
Clayton State would waste no time asserting their will as they charged out to a commanding 13-2 lead, fueled by six points from Newby, by the 6:34 mark of the first quarter. After seeing the margin grow to 17-5 with under five minutes left things would get only marginally better the rest of the frame as YHC closed the gap to 23-14 after one.
 
Following a Mountain Lions bucket to start the second, the Lakers proceeded to power out to a 35-16 advantage behind a 12-0 burst featuring a pair of triples from Alexander. YHC would then rally over the final 6:12 of the half to pull to within 38-27 at the break.
 
That lead would quickly expand to 19 over the first 6:27 of the third, however, as Clayton State stretched to a 54-35 margin behind a 16-8 run. They would close to within 58-41 by the end of the frame before the Lakers extended back to a 24 point lead at 68-44 with 6:47 left in the fourth.
 
The Mountain Lions would eventually narrow the gap to 14 with a 12-2 run after that but would get no closer as Clayton State salted away the 74-58 victory.
 
Pamela Diokpara led Young Harris with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Sarah Woghiren and Avery Jordan each finished with nine points. Sarah Reid added six points and as many rebounds and Haylie Shope and Elle Hutchinson chipped in with six apiece.
 
The Lakers begin a two-game road trip as they head to Francis Marion on Saturday, February 9. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. in Florence, South Carolina.
 

Young Harris vs. Clayton State (2/6/19)