AUGUSTA, Ga. (Women's basketball) – The Paine College Lady Lions basketball team rallied back in the second half to defeat Claflin University, 60-57.

The Lady Lions came into the Saturday's contest after suffering a loss to the Benedict on the road, 56-39. The Lady Panthers were still reeling from a one point loss to Benedict, 53-52. Both teams looked to bounce back and pick up a crucial win.

The first half of play proved to be rather daunting for Paine as the Lady Lions were down by 13 points with 3:24 left in the half. Brianna Sims made a critical three point basket at the 2:49 mark in the first half to begin the rally back, 35-25. Jemetria Fletcher put in her two cents with a jump shot with 1:56 left in the first half, 35-27. The Lady Lions went into the locker room at half time, down by eight.

Paine went in to the second half with victory on their minds as Janisha Wilkerson and Fletcher began to get hot. With 17:11 left in the second half, Wilkerson used the backboard to get two points and begin the Lady Lions march, 42-30. Fletcher got in on the action when she made a fast break layup after Wlilkerson stole the ball with 15:22 left in the second half. The Lady Lions chipped away at the Lady Panther until they took the lead when Lasharon Salahuddin made a fast break layup after stealing the ball with 5:10 left in the game, 54-53. Claflin attempted to mount a comeback with Shaniece Brown when she made a three point basket at 2:32, 59-57.

Paine held on and won the game at the free throw line as Salahuddin made one of her two baskets, 60-57 with :24 left in the game. In a last ditch effort to the game, Uniqua Mitchell tried and missed a three point with :01 left.

Wilkerson led the Lady Lions with a double double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.  She also led the team in blocks with two and steals with three. She was followed by Sims with 11 points and nine rebounds. Fletcher was third in scoring for Paine with 10 points and five rebounds. Tannasia Rhodes led the team in assists with four.

As a team, Paine finished the game with 33 rebounds, 16 assists, 10 steals, and four blocks. The team was 42.3 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from the arc, and 52.2 percent from the free throw line.
The Lady Panther were led by Mitchell with 11 points and seven rebounds. She was followed by Brown with 10 points and a team-high six asissts. Jessica Brown and Briana Chisolm each accounted six rebounds. Jessica Brown also accounted for a team-high four steals. La'Nice Kibler recorded the lone block for Claflin.

Collectively, the Lady Panthers finished the game with 37 rebounds, 11 assists, 11 steals, and one block. The team was 3.9 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from the arc, and 72.7 percent from the free throw line.

With the win, Paine moves to 7-13 overall and 5-7 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.  Claflin falls to 10-10 overall and 4-8 on the season.

The Lady Lions return to action on Saturday as they travel to face Fort Valley State University at 5:30 p.m.

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