FLORENCE, SC – Despite a career-high 20 points from junior guard Cy'erra Mills, Francis Marion University missed 10 free throws that haunted the Patriots in a 71-68 home loss to Clayton State University,  Monday night (Jan. 20) in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball action.

The Patriots fall to 10-5 overall and 5-4 in the PBC, but remain in first place in the East Division standings as the other five squads all lost on Monday.  FMU will conclude its three-game home stand on Saturday against USC Aiken at 1:30 p.m.

Mills connected on 5-of-9 three-point attempts en route to her career-best outing. She also grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists.  Reserve center Alexia Bell registered 13 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Camille Dash scored 11 points.

Senior 6-1 forward Shacamra Jackson paced the Lakers (11-5, 6-3) with 24 points, on 9-of-10 shooting, and recorded six rebounds and four blocked shots.  Sophomore center Andrea Benford tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Tiayra Green added 13 points.  The Lakers are the three-time defending conference champions.

Clayton State scored the game's opening seven points, but FMU answered with eight consecutive points to take its first lead. Both teams would enjoy five point leads later during the first stanza, but back-to-back inside buckets by Kiana Morton and Green gave Clayton State a 37-34 halftime advantage.  Thirty of the Lakers' 37 first-half points were in the paint.

In the second half, FMU rallied to tie the contest at 41-41 following a three-point play by Bell with 13:12 left.  A layup by Dash again knotted the game, this time at 60-60, with 4:11 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, two free throws by Jackson gave the Lakers the lead for good, 62-60.  A three-pointer by FMU junior Chelsea Dukes trimmed the Clayton State advantage to 70-68 with 29 seconds left.  On the inbounds pass, Patriot senior Dee Gray came up with a steal, but the Patriots then turned the ball back over to the Lakers without getting up a shot.

Following two missed free throws by CSU with 18 seconds on the clock, FMU again had a chance to tie or take the lead, but committed another turnover.  One free throw by Kayla Pryce with five seconds left gave the Lakers a three-point margin (71-68) and Gray missed an off-balance three-pointer at the final horn that would have forced overtime.

FMU shot 34.8 percent from the floor, including 9-of-27 from three-point range, and was 13-of-23 at the foul line.  Clayton State connected on 48.1 percent of its field goal attempts, but was only 2-of-14 from behind the arc, and only 19-of-31 at the charity stripe.