Orangeburg, S.C. – Dashia Jackson led three Lady Panthers in double-figures with 15 points as Claflin University held off Albany State University down the stretch, in posting a 61-52 non-conference win at the Tullis Arena on Monday (Jan. 16).
The home victory, Claflin sixth of the season in seven outings, improved the Lady Panthers season worksheet to 9-8 overall.
Jackson, who scored in double-digits for the second straight game, just missed a double-double pulling in nine rebounds. She also had five assists.
Ashley Fields came off the bench to score 13 points with six steals for Claflin, while
Deja Dickens added 11 points, seven steals and four assists in the win.
Albany State, 5-13, was led by Tyra Thompson and Alexandria James with 12 points apiece. Yolanda Givens had a well-balanced game with seven points and eight rebounds.
After leading 38-24 at the half, the Lady Panthers saw the Golden Rams pull within nine, 43-35, with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
Claflin rebounded, scoring the last five points of the quarter to take a 48-35 advantage into the final stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Albany State made its final run of the game, cutting the Claflin lead to 55-51 with 2:05 to go.
Dickens halted the Golden Rams comeback, hitting her third three-pointer of the game, putting Claflin up 58-51 lead with 1:11 left.
In first half, the Lady Panthers used a heavy defensive pressure in the second quarter to offset a poor shooting performance in the first quarter.
The opening quarter saw Claflin shoot just 15.8 percent (3-of-9) from the floor, including 0-for-6 from the three-point arc. Albany State started the game pretty hot, taking an 11-2 advantage after the first 4-1/2 minutes of play. The Golden Rams maintained the momentum throughout with the end result a 13-8 lead by Albany State after one.
The second quarter was a different story as the Lady Panthers applied full-court defensive pressure in wiping out the Albany State lead. Claflin erupted for a 13-5 run in the opening four minutes of the quarter for 21-18 lead.
The Lady Panthers defense forced 16 Albany State turnovers in the quarter that resulted in 16 points. Offensively, Claflin shot a sizzling 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the floor in the quarter.
Claflin outscored Albany State in the quarter 17-6 for the 38-24 lead at the half.
For the game, the Lady Panthers defense forced a season-high 26 turnovers, breaking the previous mark of 23 set against Saint Augustine's University.
Claflin will close out a three-game home stand on Wednesday (Jan. 16) against Virginia State University in a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) contest. The game will proceed the men's matchup at 5:30 p.m.
