ATLANTA, Ga. – The Wildcats keep on improving and finished off the first round of SIAC play in solid fashion. After trailing by nine at half, Fort Valley State won the final two periods by a 16-point margin to overpower Clark Atlanta, 63-56, in women's basketball action and record the fifth-straight victory.

Down 28-19 at half, FVSU (10-7/9-4 SIAC East) used the first 4:19 of the third frame to set the second-half tone. Over those four-plus minutes, Shekinah Rachel scored eight of her game-high 20 points with her third bucket pulling her team to within a point, 32-31. Tied at 41 in a little more than the first fourth-period minute, Cori Barnes drained the first of her back-to-back treys to give the Wildcats a lead they would not give up at 44-41 at 8:14. An Ayani Cockrell 3-point play doubled the margin to seven, 52-45, four minutes later. FVSU had an answer each time Clark Atlanta cut the margin to three in the final three minutes before the visitors sealed the deal with seven points in a row for a 10-point margin, 63-53.

With the victory, FVSU improved to 10-7 overall and 9-4 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East standings. The Wildcats also recorded its first 5-game win streak since the program ran off six victories in a row from Jan. 25 to Feb. 13, 2016 with the first win of that streak coming at home over the Lady Panthers (65-63 in OT).

Leading the charge, Rachel connected on 7 of 13 from the field and all six free throws for 20 points. The senior also pulled down nine rebounds, seven defensive, to go with a steal and an assist. Cockrell dumped in 5 of 10 field goals and all three foul shots for 13 points and pulled down four caroms.

Aaniyah Allen was the third double-digit scorer with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting to go with three assists and three rebounds. Barnes totaled six tallies on her pair of 3-pointers and Camryn Oneill had six points as well.

In a half comparison, FVSU made on 7 of 25 field goals in the first 20 minutes while it put the ball through the hoop 15 of 25 times in the winning second-half charge.

Faith Bland had top Clark Atlanta honors with 13 points and six rebounds.

Rachel started the night with the opening two points and Cockrell made a 3-point play to give FVSU an 11-7 lead after four minutes. CAU, though, netted 12 of the next 14 points for a 19-13 lead at the end of the first period.

FVSU will have two days before it hosts the same Clark Atlanta team on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 3, in a 1 p.m. tilt.

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