Marissa Mandeldove’s basket with 2.3 seconds remaining lifted Clark Atlanta to a 71-70 victory over Central State Saturday in the SIAC women’s championship game in Birmingham.

With the victory, Clark Atlanta (20-8) secured the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II women’s tournament - one year after finishing last in the SIAC’s Eastern Division.

Mandeldove, the tournament MVP, finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Clark Atlanta falls to Claflin in men’s title game

The Panthers fought uphill throughout the game, erasing a double-digit deficit to pull withing four in the final minutes, but eventually fell short against Claflin 69-61 in the championship game.

“They played hard, they played good. Give them their due,” Darrell Walker said of Claflin.

Must read: AJC series on the health of HBCUs

About the Author

Keep Reading

ajc.com

Credit: ajc

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo