Lady Panthers Set to Host Shaw

Orangeburg, S.C. – The Claflin University Lady Panthers will go for the regular-season sweep of Shaw University on Monday (Jan. 7) when they host the Lady Bears in a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) matchup.

The contest is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Tullis Arena inside the Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Physical Education Center on Claflin campus.

The Lady Panthers put themselves in a position for the sweep with a thrilling 77-75 road win over Shaw in November. The contest saw Dionna Long tip-in a missed shot by Dashia Jackson as time expired.

Long finished the game with 14 points for Claflin while Deja Dickens was the offensive leader at 17 points, along with six rebounds and five assists.

The Lady Panthers will enter the showdown with a 7-8 record that includes a 5-4 record in the CIAA.

In Claflin last outing (Friday, Jan. 4), the Lady Panthers suffered a disappointing 81-56 conference loss to Winston-Salem State University.

On the flip side, Shaw picked up its third win of the season on Saturday (Jan. 5), knocking off Washington Adventist, 91-63, in a non-conference game.

The victory lifted Shaw seasonal record to 3-8, but the Lady Bears are winless in league play at 0-3.

Claflin is led by Ashley Fields at 15.7 points and 5.0 rebounds followed by Dickens, the team top three-pointer shooter with 33, who is averaging 11.7 points, and Jackson at 11.0 points.

As for Shaw, the Lady Bears feature two high-scoring players in Tahniya Sweatt, who is averaging 18.7 points, and KlinTisha Martin at 16.4 points with 6.4 rebounds.

The two combined for 54 points in the first meeting against Claflin with Martin leading led all scorers with a game-high 30 points. Sweatt recorded a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. She was one assist shy of a triple-double with nine assists.

After the Shaw contest, Claflin will host Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Albany State University (Jan. 14) before hitting the road for four straight games.

The road trip will consist of Livingstone University (Jan. 19), Fayetteville State University (Jan. 21), Johnson C. Smith University (Jan. 28) and interstate-rival Benedict College (Jan. 31).

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