Clayton State (34-1) will try to finish a magical season in the women’s NCAA Division II national basketball tournament against Michigan Tech (31-2) at 8 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).

It will mark the first time a Clayton State team in any sport has played for a national title and the first time since 1976 that a Michigan Tech team has competed for a national title in any sport.

The Lakers have won five games in the playoffs to reach the title game, with winning margins of 25, 26, 16, 3 and 17 points, the latter a semifinal victory against Shaw College (N.C.) on Wednesday night in St. Joseph, Mo.

Clayton State averages 80-plus points per game, but it has relied on defensive pressure to force turnovers, including 29 in the victory against Shaw.

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Kirby Smart (left) and Georgia beat Brent Key and Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes last November in Athens. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets bring Clean Old-Fashioned Hate off campus for 2025, playing at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2024)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff