MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (19-9, 15-5 PBC) jumped out to a large lead and led wire-to-wire, despite needing to hold off a late comeback attempt, as they upset No. 13/17 North Georgia (24-4, 17-3 PBC) by a 73-64 score in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Saturday, February 29.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) put up 19 points behind 7-of-8 shooting at the foul line while redshirt-senior forward Jhade Hayes (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) knocked down three treys on her way to nine points and eight boards.
 
Junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) finished with 13 points and six caroms and senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) posted 12 points, three assists and three steals. Senior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) and senior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) rounded out the top performers with nine and eight points, respectively.
 
In a battle of teams riding winnings streaks of at least eight games, Clayton State would come out looking like the nationally ranked team as they scored the first 13 points on their way to an 18-4 lead by the 5:50 mark. That offensive outburst would feature a pair of threes from Hayes and set the tone for the entire first half.
 
The lead would grow to 24-7 with just under two and a half minutes left in the opening frame before the Lakers powered their way to a 29-13 lead at the end of the period. It would be a more balanced second quarter as it would be a 12-10 margin in favor of the home team as Clayton State hit the break with a commanding 41-23 advantage.
 
The tenor would change dramatically over the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter, however, as UNG put together a 7-3 stretch to close to within 44-30. After taking a timeout the Lakers would settle and push back out to a 48-30 margin before seeing that narrowed to 50-38 by the 3:37 mark.
 
That would be the beginning of a comeback as the Nighthawks put together a 19-7 burst to get all the way back to 57-57 with 5:45 remaining. At that point Towns knocked down a jumper in the paint and Swanson nailed a three from the near corner to make it 62-57 with 4:44 showing on the clock.
 
Following a three by Abbie Franklin to slice it to a two point margin Clayton State would score the next five points for a 67-62 advantage by the 2:31 mark. UNG would close to within three in the ensuing seconds but the Lakers would salt away the 73-64 victory with a 6-0 stretch to put the finishing touches on an impressive upset of one of the top teams in the country.
 
Julianne Sutton led the way for the Nighthawks with 24 points, seven boards and three assists while Franklin had 12 points, five assists and four caroms. Kara Groover yanked down 11 rebounds to go with five points and three assists and Imani Arnold and Abby Hubert had 12 and eight points, respectively.
 
The Lakers have earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference Tournament and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday, March 4. Game time and opponent have yet to be officially announced but it would appear that Francis Marion will make the return trip to The Loch. Full and complete brackets will be announced by the Peach Belt Conference on Sunday, March 1 following the conclusion of the final league game of 2019-20.
 
NOTES
Following the game the Clayton State Athletics Department and women's basketball recognized Jhade Hayes, Kelsie Towns, Brittany Williams, Christal Williams and Taneria Wilson as the program's five seniors.

FULL GAME VIDEO