MORROW, Ga. – A monster performance by junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) combined with a defensive minded four quarter fueled Clayton State's (12-9, 8-5 PBC) 69-55 victory over Young Harris (12-9, 6-7 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, February 5.
 
Swanson made it her personal mission to clean the glass as she ripped down a career-high 17 boards to go with 18 points and a pair of blocks in 29 minutes to lead the Lakers while redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) and junior forward Jada Francois Lubin (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished with 12 and 10 points respectively.
 
Senior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) added seven points and a pair of steals and senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) came away with four steals, two assists and three points. Senior center Brittany Williams (Albany, Ga.) was active in the low post as she finished with six points and four rebounds to round out the top performers.
 
It would be a game of runs early on as Clayton State opened with six straight points before YHC came right back with five of their own. That stretch would quickly be answered with an 11-3 run fueled by back-to-back jumpers from Christal Williams to make it 17-8 with two minutes left in the frame.
 
The Mountain Lions would score six of the final eight points of the quarter before capping what would be an overall run of 10-2 to pull to within 19-18 by the 9:04 mark. The Lakers wasted no time delivering their response with a massive 13-0 run over the next 2:20 that expanded their lead to 32-18. That margin would eventually grow to 15 at 38-23 before they closed the half with a 41-28 lead at the break.
 
They would stretch that lead to 45-30 over the first 1:20 of the third quarter before back-to-back triples cut it to a nine point margin by the 7:36 mark. From there, however, a pair of threes with a couple of free throws notched in between helped to power an 8-0 burst that made it 53-36 with just over 5:11 left in the frame. That margin would not slip below 12 as Clayton State took a 61-45 lead in the fourth.
 
In what would be a defensive minded quarter the Mountain Lions would slowly claw their way back to within 63-51 with 2:55 remaining. They would eventually make it 65-55 with 2:22 showing on the clock but that would be as close as they would get as Clayton State put the finishing touches on the 69-55 victory minutes later.
 
Jada Griffin led YHC with 13 points and six boards while Sarah Woghiren came away with 11 points, five caroms and four steals. Niaya White rounded things out with six points, four steals and a pair of assists.
 
The Lakers now hit the road for a weekend matchup at Georgia College on Saturday, February 8. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. in Milledgeville, Georgia.
 
FULL GAME VIDEO