All-SIAC forward Atreonia Garner led all scorers with 32 points, including her 1000th, to help Clark Atlanta roll over Albany State 73-66.
The Panthers outrebounded the Rams 53-47 behind Garner and frontcourt mate Keyra Peterson, who pulled down 14 and 13 rebounds. Na’Haviya Paxton and Tiffani Goodman pulled down 13 and 10 boards for Albany State.
Jada Morgan knocked down a jumper to give the Rams their first lead of the game, heading towards the two-minute mark of the first quarter. A quick 5-0 run gave the Rams their largest and only lead of the game. Morgan led the Golden Rams with 18 points, 3 steals, and 3 assists. Paris Triplett and Sariah Johnson also scored in double figures for the Rams, with 15 and 10 points.
Head Coach Tony Bailey turned up the heat with a full-court press and erased the lead before the one-minute mark. Trinity Jones gave Clark Atlanta the lead for good, knocking down both ends of a one-and-one. Jones finished with 14 points, a steal, six rebounds, and two assists.
The active hands and strong rebounding of the defensive glass allowed the Panthers to build on the lead in the second quarter. Janiah Caples’ tip-in with 53 seconds remaining in the first half increased the lead to 19 points, where it stayed until the start of the third.
Albany State was unable to cut into the Panthers’ lead until the fourth. The Golden Rams outscored the Panthers 26-13 in the period on the strength of a 15-1 run. Khyla Ragins jumper in the paint cut the lead to 4 points with a little less than 2 minutes to play.
A jumper by Garner slowed the Rams’ racing momentum to a crawl. CAU limited the Rams to one point the rest of the way.