Boxscore
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior forward Kate Lynch (Rumford, R.I) led all scorers with 23 points on Sunday afternoon as the No. 10 nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team defeated No. 11 Clayton State 79-67 in non-conference action at Moore Fieldhouse. Lynch shot 12-for-14 from the free-throw line on the afternoon and led four Owls in double figures, while Marie St. Fort led three Clayton State players in double digits with 21 points. With the win, SCSU improves to 8-2 (5-2 Northeast-10) while Clayton State falls to 5-2 (2-1 Peach Belt).
The two teams traded runs early on, with Clayton State scoring the game's first six points before SCSU answered with eight of the next 10 to tie the game at 8-8. Later in the half, SCSU would use four points from junior guard Lexi Allen (Southbury, Conn.) as part of an 8-0 run to take a 29-20 lead with 4:51 remaining in the opening stanza. However, Clayton State answered with three-pointers from Roberta Phillips and St. Fort to spark an 8-0 run of their own and close the SCSU lead to 29-28 with 3:40 left before halftime. SCSU would hang on to the one-point lead through the end of the half, as they took a 35-34 lead into the break.
Lynch tied for the scoring lead with 10 points in the first half, including a 5-for-6 performance at the foul line. Allen and senior guard Kaylie Schiavetta (Northport, N.Y.) each scored eight points for the Owls in the first half. Schiavetta and senior guard Michelle Martinik (Monroe, Conn.) each collected three rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
SCSU came out of the lockerroom and scored the first eight points of the second half on a run keyed by four points from senior forward Rochelle Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.) to take a 42-34 lead. The Owls would effectively put the game out of reach around the mid-point of the second half when an Allen three-pointer and four points from Lynch sparked a 9-0 run which gave SCSU its biggest lead of the afternoon at 62-47 with 10:32 to play. Clayton State would get as close as seven points on a Jackson layup with 6:55 to play, but SCSU would pull away down the stretch to win by 12.
For the game, Lynch led all scorers with 23 points on 5-for-14 field-goal shooting and 12-for-14 from the charity stripe. Schiavetta (career-high 17 points), Martinik (15) and Allen (13) all joined Lynch in double figures. Martinik led the Owls with six rebounds while Schiavetta hauled down a career-high five rebounds of her own. Johnson dished out a career-best five assists on the afternoon.
For Clayton State, St. Fort led the way with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Jackson and Shantel Ragin joined St. Fort in double figures with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Jackson led all players with nine rebounds while Ragin handed out five assists
SCSU shot 25-for-57 (43.9%) from the floor, 6-for-21 (28.6%) from three-point range and 23-for-27 (85.2%) from the free-throw line on the evening.
Clayton State shot 27-for-56 (48.2%) from the field, 4-for-13 (10.8%) from behind the arc and 9-for-11 (81.8%) from the charity stripe.
SCSU held a 33-17 edge in points off of turnovers while Clayton State was dominant in the paint to the tune of a 42-26 advantage. Clayton State committed 30 turnovers compared to just 18 for SCSU. Clayton State held a 36-28 edge in rebounding.
The Owls return to action on Friday, Dec. 21 when they visit Pace in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville, N.Y.
