Lady Cougars Pick Up Huge Win in Overtime at Clayton State

Morrow, Ga. -- Free-throw shooting has been a thorn in the side of the Columbus State women all season. The team went just 15-31 at the line on Wednesday night at #15 Clayton State adding even more frustration. This time, however, that statistic did not prove as costly as it could have. CSU knocked off the Lakers 67-61 in overtime to take a huge Peach Belt Conference road win.

The poor performance at the charity stripe might have led to the game getting to overtime, but CSU used the line to its advantage in the extra frame.  The team went 6-8 at the line, including four makes by Nakita Holt and Monique Jefferson in the final 15 seconds, to earn the win.

"We found a way to get it done tonight," said CSU head coach Jonathan Norton. "We actually hit some free-throws there in overtime when we really needed them and that was good to see. Defense was the key for us tonight and we had some people really step up and get the job done. This is a really good win for us to build on as we have two of our next three on the road."

CSU hit just six of 13 free-throw attempts in regulation after half time and no one struggled more than Phebe Smith. Despite making just four of her 13 attempts at the line, the senior All-American still finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds as she continues to etch her name deeper in the CSU record book.

The biggest story of the game came in the first half. Clayton State's Lasheria Stevens hit a layup with 8:20 remaining to put the Lakers up 22-10. The hosts appeared in complete control of the game at that point. Fortunes quickly changed. The Lakers did not score again until after halftime as CSU used good defense to help spur a 15-0 run to close the half and go into the break with a 25-22 lead. They would extend the run to 20-0, scoring the first five points of the second half on a Renee Jackson trey and a Smith layup to make it 30-22.

"Our zone worked well for us all night, but we were also able to change up our looks and I think that sort of kept them off balance. There is no doubt our defense came up big in this game for us," added Norton.

The offense awoke quickly for Clayton State, however, sparked by four three-pointers from Tanisha Woodard. Her last triple with 14:29 to play cut the CSU lead to one at 37-36. The Lakers then tied it on a Latonda Bruce free-throw 30 seconds later. CSU was able to re-take the lead and actually extended it back to five points after a Turelle Jones layup with 6:51 left.

Clayton answered with an 8-2 run, capped by a Brittany Hall three-pointer to give the hosts the lead at 52-51 with 3:58 left in regulation. CSU got two free-throws from freshman Kelsie Weynand with 2:51 left to go back in front, and then Holt hit one of two charity tosses with 2:22 left to make the margin 54-52. Jene'e Jemison knotted the game for the Lakers with 1:28 left as she hit a short jumper. CSU had a couple of chances to take a lead in the final minute, but could not get a shot to fall.

The Lakers quickly took the lead in overtime as Genesis Kelly drilled a trey less than a minute into play. CSU took the lead for good with 2:15 left on a pair of Holt free-throws, the second of which made it 60-59. Weynand then hit her third three-pointer of the game with 1:25 left to extend the lead to 63-59. A Jemison layup got Clayton back within two points, but Holt hit two free-throws with 15 seconds left and Jefferson slammed the door shut with her two tosses with six seconds left to put CSU up 67-61.

In addition to Smith's double-double, CSU got another double-double off the bench as Ashley Stafford scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Weynand scored 13 points and Jefferson added 10, as well. CSU committed 27 turnovers, but forced 28, and held a 47-45 advantage in rebounding.

Woodard led Clayton State (19-5, 10-4) with 14 points, while Hall came off the bench to score 10.

CSU (15-9, 9-5) gained a game on both Clayton State and GCSU on Wednesday in the PBC West standings. GCSU fell to Georgia Southwestern and now has a 10-4 mark, just one game in front of CSU. The Lady Cougars travel to Milledgeville on Saturday to tangle with the Bobcats at 1:30 p.m.