FORT VALLEY, GA –
Alicia Franklin led all scorers with a game-high 24-points as Fort Valley State University Lady Wildcats basketball team fell to the Lady Panthers of Claflin University, 63-61, in overtime action Saturday evening at the HPE Complex on Fort Valley State's campus.
With the loss, the Lady Wildcats fall to 0-10 overall and 0-4 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Claflin improves to five hundred (4-4) and 3-1 in conference play.
FVSU had two other players to record double figures,
Amiah Height and
Nola Carter posted 13 and 11 points. Height led the team with nine rebounds and Carter dished out a game-high five assists and eight boards.
Kaylan West grabbed eight rebounds and scored four points.
FVSU shot 35 percent from the floor, 21.4 percent from behind the arc and 61.9 percent from the charity stripe. FVSU outscored Claflin in the paint with 26-points to 6, 16-points to 10 off turnovers and 16-points to 14 on second chance shots.
Joy Okeke led Claflin in scoring with 20-points and Ashley Fields added 14 more. Jhanice Stokes pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Lady Panthers, as they out-rebounded the Lady Wildcats by 15, 57-42.
Claflin shot 31-3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three point land and 52.9 percent at the foul line.
Height's jumper tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter and Franklin's 3-pointer pushed FVSU ahead 10-9 at the 5:19 mark. Claflin went on a 12-4 run to finish the quarter up by 10, 24-14.
The Lady Panthers maintained their lead throughout the second quarter with FVSU managing to come to within six points with 32 second left. FVSU went the intermission down 34-28.
In the fourth quarter, FVSU pulled to within one on two different occasions, the last being 51-50. Height's layup with three seconds on the clock tied the game 52-52, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Lady Panthers jumped out by 7, 61-54 lead with 1:26 on the scoreboard. With 19 seconds left, Carter made two free throws to cut the lead to one (62-61). Fields for Claflin completed the scoring with a free throw 63-61.
The Lady Wildcats will be back in action on Monday, December 4 as the University of North Georgia come to the HPE Complex. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 pm.
