MORROW, Ga. - Falling behind by 16 points after one period, the No. 13 University of North Georgia women's basketball team started clawing back but could not finish off the comeback as the Nighthawks dropped their final regular season game of the year at Clayton State, 73-64.

Clayton State jumped out to a 13-0 lead right off the bat on their way to an 18-4 lead by the 5:50 mark. After leading by 16 after the first 10 minutes, the Lakers stretched their lead to 18 by halftime before UNG started the comeback attempt.

The Nighthawks slowly got back into the game, working it back to a tie at 57-57 with 5:45 to play, but Clayton State finished the game on a 16-7 run, including scoring the final six points to score the upset.

NOTES
- This was the first time since the 2015-16 season that North Georgia lost a regular season finale.

- Julianne Sutton led all scorers with 24 points, while Abbie Franklin and Imani Arnold each added 12.

- While UNG outshot Clayton State, the Lakers had 20 points off turnovers to just 11 of those for North Georgia.

NEXT UP
The Nighthawks have the No. 2 seed in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and will host either Augusta or Young Harris Wednesday. The Jaguars and Mountain Lions are tied for the No. 7 spot, so UNG will await the official brackets to be released Sunday afternoon to see their opponent in the quarterfinal round.