Box Score

MORROW, Ga. – The Union University women's basketball team posted a signature NCAA Division II win with a 74-65 win at No. 3 Clayton State University. This was the first home loss for Clayton State in seven years.
 
Union improved to 2-0 on the season, while Clayton State dropped to 2-1. Clayton State finished last season with a 32-1 record and did not loss their first game until the quarterfinals of the national tournament.
 
Union head coach Mark Campbell said after the game, "This is a great win for our program. Our players embraced the opportunity to go into a place where it is hard to win. Coach Cox (Clayton State head coach) is a great coach and we have a tremendous amount of respect for Clayton State. I am proud of our team. The girls played really well."
 
The play of former McNairy Central High School standout Chelsea Bodiford led Union off the bench. The freshman guard, coming off a medical red-shirt season, was playing in just her third college game. She posted a career-high 26 points. Bodiford was 8-of-11 from long range. She added four assists, a steal, and a rebound to her career night.
 
Clayton State led by four points early in the game when Union's shots began to fall. Union took their first lead 14-11 on a 3-pointer from Bodiford.
 
Union closed out the first half with a 9-3 run to take a 36-28 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Clayton State cut the deficit to just five points, 43-38, with 16 minutes left. But then Union exploded with a 21-1 run over the next six minutes to lead by 25 points, 64-39. Union led again by 25 points, 66-41 with 9:15 left, before Clayton State started to mount their rally.
 
Union held on down the stretch as the home Lakers mounted a rally to get as close as four points, 69-65, in the final minute. Clayton State outscored Union 24-3 over that eight-minute stretch. However, Union scored the last five points, including a huge 3-pointer from Astrid Huttemann with 42 second left to put Union back up by seven points. Amy Philamlee hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to seal the win.
 
Union played the game extremely shorthanded, dressing out just seven players. However, Union overcame the lack of depth by making shots from long range at a 52 percent clip.
 
Huttemann and Philamlee added 16 points each to go join Bodiford in double figures. Philamlee added 10 assists to complete her double-double. Huttemann sank 4-of-8 3-pointers in the win. Union shot 48 percent from the field, 52 percent (15-29) from long range, and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Philamlee was 6-for-6 from the line herself.
 
Clayton State was led by Bena Hanyard with 18 points, while Yishica Sims and Tweety Hawkins added 12 points each. The Lakers shot 42 percent from the field, 33 percent (7-21) from long range, and 57 percent (8-14) from the free throw line.
 
Up next for Union will be two games in the Drury University Thanksgiving Classic, November 29-30.
 
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