AUGUSTA, Ga. – In a game that would come down to the fourth quarter, Clayton State (21-9, 16-6 PBC) battled top seeded No. 22 North Georgia (26-4, 19-3 PBC) tooth-and-nail for three quarters before falling by a 70-60 score in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals and an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, March 9.
 
Senior forward Velencia Johnson (Hoover, Ala.) gave the best offensive performance of her career as she topped her personal best with 23 points, going 9-of-12 from the field while pulling down six boards and notching four steals. That surpassed her previous best of 21 set against Paine on November 25, 2017.
 
She was joined by redshirt-junior guard Madison Newby (Lawrenceville, Ga.) with 16 points behind 7-of-11 shooting along with five rebounds and three assists and junior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) with six caroms, four assists and a pair of steals. Redshirt-senior guard Monica Alexander (Richmond, Va.) and senior guard TaKwana Bland (Williamston, N.C.) rounded things out with seven points apiece.
 
Despite what both the seeding and national rankings would say, the teams would be evenly matched over the entirety of the first quarter. In that frame they were separated by no more than three points and deadlocked three times before the Lakers managed a 19-16 lead heading into the second.
 
The Nighthawks would rebound to start that period, however, as they put together an 8-2 stretch to flip the script and retake the lead at 24-21 by the 7:43 mark. Three straight buckets by Clayton State, two by Johnson, then put them right back ahead at 27-24 with just under six minutes left in the half.
 
As had been the trend in the game, it would not stay that way for long as UNG scored the next points to pull back ahead 31-27 by the 2:54 mark. From there the teams would be fairly even as the Nighthawks held on for a narrow 35-33 lead at the break.
 
Johnson would notch the first three buckets of the second half to break her career-high and fuel an 11-4 run that propelled them to a 44-39 advantage by the 5:44 mark of the third. Things would once again swing back the way of North Georgia, however, as they put together 13-5 stretch over the remainder of the quarter to enter the fourth with a 52-49 lead.
 
That period would open with a bang as the Nighthawks' Amber Skidgel knocked down a three as part of five straight points that made it 57-49 after just a minute of play. Consecutive layups by the Lakers then halved that deficit but only temporarily as a jumper and a pair of free throws quickly rebuilt it to 61-53 with 6:22 to go.
 
It would get no better as UNG made it an overall run of 11-0 as they vaulted out to a 68-53 margin by the 2:48 mark. From there they would go on to close out the 70-60 semifinal victory and secure a spot in the championship against either No. 2 seed Lander or No. 6 seed Columbus State.
 
Julianne Sutton led the way for the Nighthawks with 20 points while Tamera Thorpe checked off several boxes with 16 points, seven boards, four assists and a pair of steals. Skidgel added 13 points and Abbie Franklin and Imani Arnold each had eight points.
 
Having posted a 21-win season and currently sitting in the No. 7 spot in the Southeast Region rankings, the Lakers will now await word on an At-Large berth to the 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Seedings for the Field of 64 will be revealed on www.NCAA.com tomorrow, Sunday, March 10 at 10 p.m. with the likely site of the Southeast Region Tournament being top seeded No. 15 Anderson (28-2). Stay tuned to www.ClaytonStateSports.com for all the Lakers postseason info.

Women's Basketball vs. No. 22 North Georgia (3/9/19)

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