PEMBROKE – Ninth-ranked Clayton State took advantage of 31 UNCP turnovers to pull past the Lady Braves in an 82-61 victory in the Peach Belt Conference home opener for the Black and Gold on Saturday afternoon at the English E. Jones Center.

DayDay Ray and Domonique Washington each tallied 13 points for the Lady Braves (3-3, 0-2 PBC) as Talena Faison and Briana Stanton registered 10 points apiece. Anya Knower matched a game-high with six rebounds while Stanton tallied three assists and a trio of steals.

Tanisha Woodard registered a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists for Clayton State (9-0, 1-0 PBC), while Teshymia Tillman and Drameka Griggs finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Breanna Fort matched a game-high with six rebounds, with Tillman and Griggs each posting three steals.

The Lady Braves took the first lead of the game on a layup by Ray, but had trouble breaking the Lakers' full-court press by coughing up turnovers which Clayton State used to regain the lead. Kristen Hobbs nailed a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to reduce the Lakers' lead to six points.

UNCP came within two points at the 14:46 mark of the second half with the determination to slow down Clayton State's press. However, the Lady Braves made careless passes causing turnovers the Lakers would capitalize on. The Black and Gold fell victim to 31 turnovers compared to 17 for the Lakers.

"We played well with about six or seven minutes left in the game, but we shot ourselves in the foot by turning the ball over as many times as we did," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "We weren't strong with the ball, but we now have some things to focus on for our next game so we don't make the same mistakes again."

UNCP will take the next week off before traveling to Murfreesboro to face Chowan (1-4) on December 14 at the Helms Center. Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m.