MORROW, Ga. – It would take an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter as Clayton State (17-9, 13-5 PBC) came from behind to win their eighth straight with a 68-66 victory at USC Aiken (14-12, 9-9 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, February 22.
 
Senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) delivered her second straight double-double as she led the Lakers with 14 points, 11 boards, four steals and a pair of assists while redshirt-junior forward Dejah Montgomery (Cordova, Tenn.) had 12 points and three steals.
 
Junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) came away with 10 points and five caroms and redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) had nine points and five rebounds. Redshirt-senior forward Jhade Hayes (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) chipped in with nine points and junior forward Jada Francois Lubin (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led the team with six assists and a pair of steals.
 
The opening frame would be a tight one as the lead changed hands only once but the teams battled through seven ties, including the 21-21 deadlock that they would head to the second with. Neither team would lead by more than four points, that being a 16-12 margin by Clayton State at the 4:22 mark.
 
It would remain close in that period as USCA retook the lead at 27-24 with 8:20 to play in the half before making it 31-28 just over three minutes later. At that point the Lakers answered with an 8-2 run behind six points from Wilson that put them back ahead at 36-31 with four and a half minutes on the clock. The offense for both teams would then grind to a halt as they combined for four points the rest of the way with Clayton State heading to the break up 38-33.
 
That margin would eventually grow to 52-42 over the first 5:11 of third before the Pacers rallied behind a 9-2 burst to pull to within 54-51 by the end of the frame. Continuing over the opening three minutes of the fourth, that run would grow to an overall stretch of 18-2 and a 60-54 lead to completely change the complexion of the game.
 
Trailing 62-56 approaching the midway point of the quarter Swanson would lead a personal 7-0 run to go from down six to up 63-62 with 3:03 to play. That would extend to an 11-0 stretch behind a jumper by senior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) and two more Wilson free throws before USC Aiken finally snapped the run with a put back by Kwajelin Farrar to put it at 67-64.
 
It would be too little, too late, however, as the Lakers converted 1-of-2 free throws and forced a three-point miss before allowing a late bucket to reach the final margin of 68-66 just 14 seconds later.
 
Farrar produced a monster game of 20 points, 18 rebounds, eight blocks and a pair of steals to lead the Pacers while Melyk Taouil had 13 points, six assists and six caroms. Chesney Gardner rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points to go with eight boards and Madison Williams had seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Alex Canady closed things out with seven points and five boards.
 
The Lakers wrap the road part of the regular season as they head to Flagler on Wednesday, February 26. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in St. Augustine, Florida.