AUGUSTA, Ga. – Undefeated and leaders of the Peach Belt Conference West Division, the Clayton State Lakers held off the Augusta State Lady Jaguars on Thursday night for a 67-54 victory in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The victory bumped CSU to 21-0 overall and 14-0 in the PBC, while the loss slid ASU to 15-4 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

Scoring the initial points of the night, ASU came alive in the first half when juniors Tanchelle Hollingsworth and Becky Newhouse drained 3-pointers, followed by a steal from senior Brittany White and a jumper from senior Taylor Ayers. The Lady Jags took a 34-21 advantage at halftime, with all five starters scoring in the half. Ayers and Newhouse led ASU with seven points each, while White distributed five assists and nabbed three steals in the opening half.

Hollingsworth paced the Lady Jags with 14 points and Newhouse contributed 11. Senior forward Tiffany Jaecks grabbed a team-high six rebounds and notched nine points, while White handed out a game-leading six assists and nabbed a game-high four steals.

ASU scored the first five points of the second half for a 39-24 lead, but CSU stormed back to reduce the lead to 41-31. The Lakers outscored ASU 21-6 over a nine-minute period with tenacious defense to take the lead.

White tied the game with a 3-pointer from the left side with just over five minutes remaining, but ASU only scored one more basket in the game, a layup by Hollingsworth with 23 seconds remaining. CSU notched 15 points over the last five minutes, outscoring ASU 46-20 in the closing half.

The Lakers were paced by a game-high 24 points from senior Drameka Griggs, while senior center Shannon Smith put up 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had two blocks. ASU shot 35 percent (20-of-58) for the game, while the Lakers shot 42 percent (22-of-53).

"Clayton was just the better team coming down the stretch," ASU head coach Nate Teymer said. "I feel like sometimes there are teams that come out and beat you and there are sometimes when we give them opportunities. I felt like we gave them chances in the second half and they took advantage - my hats off to them."

ASU travels to conference newcomer Young Harris, in each program's first meeting on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m. in the YHC Basketball Arena.