CLEMSON, S.C. - The Anderson women's basketball overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat Clemson, 72-65, in exhibition action Friday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Anderson senior Alissa Diaz, who scored 10 points and recorded seven rebounds against the Lady Tigers as a freshman, tallied a team-high 21 points. The 5-foot-10 guard was 11-of-12 from the free throw line, including three of four inside the final 17 seconds to help clinch the win. Senior guard Amanda Parris added 15 points and recorded six rebounds, while sophomore guard Sierra Simpson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and shared game-high honors with five assists.

Clemson sophomore guard Nikki Dixon notched a game-high 24 points, with Danaejah Grant and junior forward Quinyotta Pettaway each netting 14 points. Pettaway finished with a game-high 19 rebounds to complete the double-double. Sophomore guard Chelsea Lindsay handed out five assists on the night.

Trailing 31-16 with 2:24 left in the first half, Anderson used a late 10-2 run to trim the deficit to just 33-26 at the break. Parris sparked the outburst by scoring four straight for the Trojans, while freshman guard Madison Floyd added a three from top of the circle for seven unanswered points. Following a jumper by Clemson's Grant, Floyd capped the surge by draining another trey with 10 seconds on the clock to set the halftime score at 33-26.

"I'm so proud of our team," said Anderson head coach Jim Brunelli. "When you trust in each other great things can happen. It is all about believing and trusting in each other. Offensively we made good passes and defensively we were in the right spot. They [Clemson] are a young team that will get better and do well this season."

The Trojans climbed within 33-28 as Parris opened the second stanza with a jumper, but Clemson pushed back out to an eight-point advantage twice before AU began its final rally.

Floyd connected on her third trey of the night at the 12:08 mark, giving Anderson its first lead since the opening moments, at 46-43. There were three more ties and two lead changes before the Trojans took a lead they would not relinquish on the second of two Diaz free throws with 7:22 left. The stellar AU defense then held Clemson scoreless for more than four minutes, as the Trojans built a 64-53 cushion, their largest lead of the contest, with 3:08 remaining.

Clemson trimmed the Trojan lead to 66-60 on a pair of free throws from Dixon with 57.4 ticks on the clock, but Anderson countered by connecting on six-of-seven free throws in the final minute.

Clemson opens its regular season on Nov. 11 by playing host to Presbyterian College, while the Trojans travel to Columbia, S.C. on Sunday for an exhibition matchup with South Carolina. Tip-off versus the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena is slated for 3 p.m.

The Trojans open the regular season with a two-game homestand, beginning with Conference Carolinas' foe Pfeiffer on Nov. 10, then play host to Erskine on Nov. 14.