Courtesy of Miles Athletics
Miles shot a season-high 53.4 percent from the field as it defeated Clark Atlanta 78-64 in a non-conference affair Thursday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The 78 points tied a season high and the win was the third straight for the Lady Bears (15-8), which swept the season series from the Panthers (6-18).
Sakina Wynn scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and she matched Ashley McCrear’s effort at Fort Valley State in 2017 for the most points by a Lady Bear this decade. She was perfect on all four of her 3-point attempts, which helped open lanes to the basket as she was 12-of-18 from the field with many of the layup variety. As a team, Miles was 6-of-9 from behind the arc, including makes on the first three long balls of the game. The Lady Bears opened a 10-point lead in the first quarter but led just 39-34 at the half.
A Mya Millner (four points, five rebounds) bucket with 3:16 left in the third quarter pushed the Miles lead to 53-43. But the Panthers would not go away. When Nailah-Mawusi Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer less than a minute into the fourth quarter, CAU had taken a 57-55 lead. But from there, Miles turned the screws defensively, holding the Panthers without a basket for the next eight minutes. A layup followed by a 3-point play by Wynn gave the Lady Bears the lead for good. With Victoria Sutton pacing the offense, Raiana Johnson controlling the paint, and Wynn, Miles was able to put the game away. By the time Wynn scored on a steal and fastbreak layup with 2:37 left, Miles led 74-58 – its biggest lead of the game.
Mitchell had 23 points and nine rebounds and Reagan Jackson added 15 points for CAU. Johnson (17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks) and Sutton (12 points, eight assists, three steals) had strong efforts for Miles, which plays next at Kentucky State. Tip-off on Saturday is at noon.
