MORROW, Ga. – Withering defense that forced a 2-of-25 performance from beyond the arc and balanced scoring led Clayton State (20-9, 15-5 PBC) past Francis Marion (14-13, 10-10 PBC) by a 71-44 score in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament Quarterfinal and NCAA Division II women's basketball game on Wednesday, March 4.
 
Senior guard Taneria Wilson (Fort Pierce, Fla.) led that balanced scoring attack with 14 points to go with four steals while senior forward Kelsie Towns (Butler, Ga.) joined her with 14 points.
 
Reigning PBC Player of the Week redshirt-senior guard Christal Williams (Riverdale, Ga.) added seven points, five boards and three steals and junior forward Timi'a Swanson (Americus, Ga.) finished with nine points, four caroms and a pair of steals. Redshirt-junior guard Praise Russell (Jacksonville, Fla.) rounded out the top performers with nine points behind the force of a 3-for-3 night from beyond the arc.
 
It would be a nip-and-tuck affair as the teams would battle through a pair of ties and five lead changes over the first 5:15 with the last of those seeing the Lakers taking a 15-9 lead by the 3:19 mark of the opening frame. They would then wrap the first 10 minutes with a 19-14 advantage.
 
After a bucket to open the second quarter made it a seven point spread, FMU would pull to within two on four occasions, the last at 27-25 with just over four minutes left in the half. A three-point barrage by Swanson, who nailed three treys in a two and a half minute stretch, powered a 12-2 burst that blew it open and sent Clayton State to the break holding a 39-27 lead.
 
The Patriots would get it down to a 10 point spread, 45-35, just past the half way mark but after that, that margin would just continue to grow. Over the next four and a half minutes, the Lakers mounted an 11-2 run fueled by a pair of Russell threes to make it 56-37 before an FMU free throw put it at an 18 point margin heading to the fourth.
 
In that frame they would get within 16 before the Lakers erased all thoughts of a comeback and Francis Marion's first victory at The Loch since the 2007-08 season. In a span of five minutes they would put together another 11-2 burst, this time behind five different scorers, to extend to a 67-42 spread by the 3:40 mark. They would make it 71-44 with 2:37 to play before closing out the quarterfinal victory by that score.
 
Zaria Woods led the Patriots with 16 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes while Kiana Adderton finished with 15 points, five caroms, two assists and a pair of steals. On the night, FMU was held to 2-of-25 shooting from three-point range, posting only an eight-percent success rate. They also went 4-of-14 from the foul line (.286).
 
The Lakers have now earned a berth in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals for the 14^th time in 21 trips and will take on No. 16/18 North Georgia (25-4, 17-3 PBC) in a rematch of the regular season finale. That game will be contested in Greenwood, South Carolina, site of this years PBC Men's and Women's Basketball Final Four and will tip at approximately 7:30 p.m. Stay tuned to www.ClaytonStateSports.com for full details.
 
NOTES
Clayton State and North Georgia have met just twice in the PBC Tournament … the first of those was an 81-54 Laker victory in the championship game on March 10, 2013 with the other coming just last year … the latter would be a 70-60 defeat in the semifinals in Augusta, Georgia on March 9, 2019.
 
FULL GAME VIDEO