A collision too harsh for the basketball court didn’t hinder the Clayton State Lady Lakers but provided them with a spark against Young Harris.

Kayla Mobley scored 15 points, Keona Dixon added 14, including four 3-pointers, and Kayla Pryce had 13 as Clayton State cruised in the second half to remain perfect with an 85-61 home victory over Young Harris last Thursday.

“I was really pleased to see our balanced scoring tonight,” Clayton State women’s coach Dennis Cox said.

Prior to the Lady Lakers’ 17th consecutive victory and just seconds before the 3:23 mark in the first half, Drameka Griggs left her man to make a blind-sided steal from Lauren Smith at half court, but unfortunately Griggs and Smith made head-to-head contact.

As a result, both players went down with Smith holding her head and Griggs holding her mouth, which began to bleed. The Lady Lakers’ leading scorer immediately left for the locker room, while a stunning silence occupied the gym.

When play resumed, Ladondra Johnson converted a three-point play to cut Clayton State’s lead to 33-29, but the momentum had already shifted the Lady Lakers’ way.

Arkia Armstrong ignited a 10-2 run with a 3-pointer and Mobley highlighted it with jumper and layup en route to a 43-31 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Clayton State didn’t let off the gas. Griggs re-entered the contest with 16:40 left before Mobley’s layup extended the margin to 54-34 with 16:03 remaining. Four minutes later, Griggs would definitely prove she was okay with back-to-back steals and fast-break layups for a 64-38 lead.

Griggs finished with eight points and seven rebounds for the Lady Lakers, whose lead would grow as large as 32 points.

Clayton State was also able to stretch its margin out in the second half due to Mobley’s defense against Johnson (15 points), who was held scoreless after halftime.

“I said, ‘Kayla I hate to put it on you but if we’re going to win this game you are going to have to do a job on No. 30,’ and she accepted that challenge and shut her down,” Cox said.

On Saturday, the Lady Lakers extended their winning streak to 18 in a row with an 88-56 road victory against North Georgia. Clayton State hosts Georgia College on Thursday.