Savannah, Ga. –Five different Trojans scored in double figures, but Anderson was unable to overcome long-range shooting woes and turnovers, as Clayton State defeated the Black and Gold, 84-73, Friday night at the South Atlantic Conference-Peach Belt Challenge hosted by Armstrong State in Savannah, Ga.
With the loss, Anderson begins the 2016-17 season 0-1 while Clayton State begins its campaign 1-0. The Trojans ended the Lakers season a year ago in their NCAA Tournament matchup.
INSIDE THE BOX
-At the half, Anderson was shooting 62.5% (10-16) from the free throw line, 33.3% (11-33) from the field and 16.7% (1-6) behind the arc. Sophomore Erika Martin led the team in points with eight while senior Jasmine Franklin grabbed five boards.
-For the game, Franklin recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Martin and senior Nakia Young led all Trojans scorers with 12 points followed by senior Alexis Dillard's 11 points in limited minutes due to foul trouble. Senior Heather Jankowy netted 10 points while adding five rebounds and six assists.
-In her college debut, freshman Alexy Mollenhauer chipped in eight points on 4-of-9 shooting while grabbing one offensive rebound, dishing out one assist and recording two blocks. Classmates Hannah Hodges and Maddison Baggett each logged minutes with both pulling down one offensive rebound a piece.
-As a team, the Trojans shot 35.6% (21-59) from the field, 68.2% (30-44) from the free throw line and 7.7% (1-13) from 3-point land while committing a total of 26 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Lakers got on the board first on a made layup to start the contest. Anderson's Young scored the Trojans first point of the game on a made free throw.
The back and forth first quarter saw the Trojans their largest lead of three at the 5:25 mark with the Lakers claiming the three point advantage to end the first period, 16-13.
Second Quarter
Anderson's Martin quickly cut the lead to just one on a jumper just 30 seconds into the second quarter. Clayton State's Tweety Hawkins answered right back by draining a 3-point basket to give the Lakers their largest lead of the game, 19-15. The Lakers hit two more 3-pointers over the next 3:30 to push their lead to 10, 29-19.
The Trojans saw Clayton State's lead grow to as much as 14 with three minutes remaining in the second period. Anderson began to immediately chip away at the deficient bringing the score all the way back to within five with 17 seconds to go before allowing a jumper at the buzzard to push the lead back to seven, 40-33.
The Black and Gold run was sparked by Young who scored six of her 12 points during that stretch.
Third Quarter
During third quarter action, Clayton State made another run to give the Lakers their largest lead of the game at 15 with 1:46 remaining in the third. The Black and Gold mustered another effort and cut the lead to 10 on a short jumper by Martin with 52 seconds remaining. Clayton State countered with a 3-point basket to push the lead up to 13 while Anderson's Franklin was able to drop a layup within the remaining seconds to cut the lead to back to 11, 62-51.
Fourth Quarter
The Trojans kept on charging with Franklin capping off an 8-0 run on a made free throw to pull with five with eight minutes left to play.
Anderson was able to get as close as two points on two different spurts with the latest being at the 5:03 mark.
A quick 5-0 run by the Lakers pushed their lead to seven with four minutes to play. Anderson's Franklin cut the lead back to five on two made free throws but the Trojans could not come any closer.
Clayton State was able to outscore the Black and Gold 14-8 over the final four minutes to claim the 84-73 victory.
UP NEXT
Anderson will continue its play in the SAC-PBC Challenge when it squares off with host Armstrong State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
