NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Clayton State 65 – North Georgia 72
Records: Lakers (16-13, 8-10 PBC) – Nighthawks (25-3, 16-2 PBC)
All-Time Series: Clayton State Leads 27-24
 
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The sixth-seeded Clayton State women's basketball team fell 72-65 to top-seeded and No. 9 North Georgia in Sunday's Peach Belt Conference Championship Game.

Playing in their first conference championship since the 2012-13 season, the Lakers went toe-to-toe with the defending champions but came up just short of pulling off a third-straight upset.

Clayton State upended #3 seed Ga. Southwestern Wednesday before knocking off #2 seed Lander on Saturday.

The first half went back and forth as UNG led 15-13 after the first quarter. The next two quarters belonged to UNG as Clayton State trailed 60-42 with just the fourth to play.

UNG opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to pull ahead by 10 points. An Abbie Franklin 3-pointer made it a 12-point game with 38 seconds remaining, but Diamond Swift sunk a buzzer-beating three to make it a 31-22 game at halftime.

Audrey McElhaney led the Lakers for the second-consecutive day with 16 points and seven rebounds. The junior, along with Timi'a Swanson, would be named to the PBC All-Tournament Team.

North Georgia slowly extended its lead in the third, using an 18-7 run to lead 58-36 with 2:13 remaining in the quarter.

The Lakers put together another strong fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Clayton State opened the period with a 10-1 run to trail 52-61 with 7:17 remaining before UNG answered with six-straight to make it a 15-point ball game.

Clayton State would then close the game with a 13-5 run to end its tournament with a 72-65 loss.

Swanson and Jadah Waite added nine points and five rebounds apiece. Jada Moss had 10 points while Raven Riley had nine.

The Lakers scored 27 points off 20 UNG turnovers while the Nighthawks held a 45-32 rebound advantage.

 
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