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other end. One reason for Griggs’ relative
inactivity is that the Lakers, one of the
best defensive teams in the country (their
opponents are shooting 33 percent and
averaging just 53 points), have a winning
margin of 20.3 points per game, second in
the nation.
When she is on the floor, MeMe Griggs is
often the smallest player of the floor…
she’s also the smallest Laker. But, no one
in the nation has a bigger effect on the
game than this hometown hero, arguably
the best guard in the country.
Page 17
Campus Review
February 26, 2013
#3 Clayton State Women Cruise to
83-51 Win on Homecoming Saturday
by Gid Rowell, Athletics
The 3rd-ranked Clayton State women’s
basketball team shot well from the floor
and forced 31 Montevallo turnovers on
Homecoming to cruise to a 83-51 victory
at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
Clayton State finished the game, hitting
48 percent (36-of-75) from floor, while
the Laker defense, which ranks among the
nation’s best, held the Falcons to only 33
percent (18-of-55) from the floor.
The Lakers took control of the game in
the final seven minutes of the first half.
Up by three points with 7:20 remaining,
the undefeated CSU squad went on a 21-2
run and took a commanding 22-point lead
on a layup by forward Jessica Covington
with 13 seconds remaining the period.
Montevallo’s Trena Moore-Smith drilled
3-pointer from just inside half-court to
trim the Laker lead to 37-18 at intermis-
sion.
Senior guard Drameka Griggs keyed the
Laker run with nine of her game-high 23
points in the run and also had three steals,
setting up Clayton State baskets.
In the second half, Montevallo cut the
Laker lead to 13 points but could come no
closer. Leading 50-37 with 11:07 left,
Clayton State went on 21-3 run over the
next the five minutes to seal the victory.
Griggs capped the run with a steal and
lay-up at the 5:50 mark to give the Lakers
a 31-point lead, 71-40. The Lakers pushed
the lead to as many as 36 points in final
minutes of the contest.
“We played really well in spurts tonight,”
said head coach Dennis Cox. “We’re still
looking for consistency in our play but
when we were good tonight we were very
good. MeMe (Drameka Griggs) was
dynamic as usual, our posts did a good
defensively, and I thought Kayla Mobley
played her best game to date as a Laker.”
With the win, Clayton State improves to
22-0 and 15-0 in Peach Belt Conference
play. The loss drops Montevallo to 13-10
overall and 8-6 in league play. The Lakers
will return to action on Thursday,
February 14th, traveling to face Georgia
College in Milledgeville, GA.
Griggs’ 23 points came on 10-of-16
shooting. Along with six steals, she also
had four assists. Forward Kayla Mobley
finished with a “double-double” with 15
points and 10 rebounds. She also added
four assists and two steals.
turn on what I like to consider my little
secret `GO’ button,” she says. “I'm not
sure there's a secret to carrying a team. As
a senior leader, from the last game of your
junior season to the last game of your sen-
ior season, you realize there is only ONE
last chance to do something special. So in
crunch times, I'm never called on to make
those big plays. It's almost like an unwrit-
ten rule... it comes with being a leader and
now it's just something I've learned to
carry out. In those crunch moments, I
think the only thing that goes through my
mind is, `I have got to step up and make a
play. If I don't then, who will?’"
Remarkably, Cox brings his star off the
bench – she’s started just one game so far
this season, although as a player on the
way to setting the single season scoring
record for one of Division II’s top
women’s basketball programs, and possi-
bly also getting the career scoring record
at Clayton State as well, she’s hardly a
secret weapon. Griggs currently stands
17th nationally in scoring at 19.4 points
per game (no other Laker is in double fig-
ures) on 54 percent shooting (second
among all guards nationally), with 4.4
rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, despite
playing less than 29 minutes per game.
Still, her statistics don’t tell the complete
story, because she does get the game
going up and down, triggering outbursts
where she leads the fast break on one end,
and keys a suffocating defense on the
Photo Credit: Kevin Liles | kdlphoto.com
Jessica Covington during the 2013 Homecoming game against Montevallo.
Griggs, cont’d, p. 13