ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.- The Shorter Women's Basketball team came up short to Clayton State in a 77-75 final at the Flagler Gymnasium Friday afternoon. 

The Hawks fell behind early as Clayton State jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter. Shorter continued to battle with the Lakers, finding themselves behind 16-7 at the end of the quarter. Shorter cut the deficit to three in the second quarter with baskets from Aijah Manning and Amya Patterson. Later in the quarter, the Hawks found their rhythm offensively by going on a 12-5 run at the end of the period to make it 31-29 at halftime. 

The Hawks grabbed their first lead of the game as Amya Patterson drilled a three right at the start of the third. Both teams began to trade baskets as the quarter ended, with the Lakers gaining a 55-52 lead at the end of the period. Shorter struggled to contain Clayton State at the start of the fourth, falling behind by ten at the 6:05 mark. Shorter stormed back, scoring nine unanswered, with seven of those points coming from Patterson. At the 1:33 mark, the Lakers converted on a jumper to make it a 75-72 affair. Ahtiana Benway connected from behind the arc to even the score and give Shorter momentum. After strong defensive possessions from both sides, Clayton State took the lead on a layup with 19 seconds remaining. After a missed opportunity from Shorter, the Hawks forced a turnover with six seconds left to give them one more opportunity. The Hawks, unfortunately, fell short on a missed attempt to make it a 79-77 final. 

As a team, the Hawks shot 41.5% from the field, including 50% from three, and went an impressive 16-20 (80%) from the charity stripe. Amya Patterson led all scorers with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting and went 2-for-4 from three while pulling down nine rebounds. Aijah Manning had a well-rounded performance, scoring 16 points, grabbing a team-high 15 rebounds, and dishing out four assists. Chelsy Singelton rounded out the Hawks' scoring with 16 points, four rebounds, and a team-leading seven assists. 

UP NEXT

Shorter will have a fast turnaround as they play Flager College on day two of the Conference Crossover at 3:00 PM tomorrow. 

FOLLOW THE HAWKS
For complete coverage of Shorter Women's basketball, follow the Hawks on social media @ShorterWBB (Twitter), / @ShorterWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Shorter athletics at goshorterhawks.com