ORANGEBURG, SC - The Claflin Lady Panthers (4-11, 3-4 CIAA) left no doubt when the team took an impressive 56-42 win over the Livingstone College Blue Bears (3-10, 2-3 CIAA), Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers took the win behind a terrific defensive effort.
 
As a team, the Lady Panthers did a great job on the defensive end to claim the win. The Lady Panthers held their opponents to shooting just 28.3% (15-of-53) from the floor and forced 19 turnovers in the game. Claflin freshman Lauren Scott led the way for the Lady Panthers with a game-high 13 points. Junior forward Breanna Price added 11 points with five rebounds while freshman guard Blesseth Dillingham added 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Lady Panthers wasted no time in taking control of the game. The Lady Panthers jumped out to an early 16-9 lead after a Price lay-up with 1:43 left in the first quarter to take a comfortable lead over the Blue Bears. From there, the Lady Panthers kept up their strong play to remain ahead of the Blue Bears in the second quarter. Though the Lady Panthers allowed the Blue Bears to cut their lead down to two points, 19-17, the Lady Panthers answered by holding on to their lead, 26-21, with 3:55 left in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers allowed the Blue Bears to tie the game, 26-26 with 2:14 left in the second quarter. The tied score would then stand until halftime.
 
The second half was a bit less dramatic as the Lady Panthers played a close third quarter before pulling away for the win with a big fourth quarter. The two teams played to a 33-33 tie with 2:04 left in the quarter before the Lady Panthers entered the third quarter trailing, 36-35. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Panthers exploded and out scored the Blue Bears, 21-6 to pull out the victory. The Lady Panthers opened the quarter with a seven-point run to go ahead, 42-36 on a Scott three-pointer with 7:42 left to play. From there, the Lady Panthers took control of the game and never looked back. The team held the Blue Bears without a field goal in the final five minutes of the game and rolled to the 56-42 victory.
 
With the win, the Lady Panthers improve to 4-11 overall and 3-4 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play. The team will return to action, Wednesday, when they head to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on the Winston-Salem State Rams. For more information on Claflin women's basketball, contact the Claflin University Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 535-5548 or log on to www.athletics.claflin.edu.