Although it took a while to get into a comfortable groove, the Johnson C. Smith women's basketball team kept full-court pressure throughout the evening in defeating Claflin University, 79-43, inside Brayboy Gymnasium Monday night.

After playing to a two-point differential (17-15) at the end of the first quarter, JCSU exploded on a 29-9 run in the second quarter and continued their run outscoring Claflin 19-9 in the third quarter on the way to a Monday night blowout.

JCSU was led by jaKeyah McNeil who scored all of her game-high 15 points from behind the arc. McNeil was 5 for 7 from the three-point line adding four rebounds and two steals.

Rayeesha Hewlett scored 10 points in the 24 minutes she played adding three assists to her ledger.

Often substituting five players at a time, the Golden Bulls kept putting pressure on the Panthers throughout the game, recording 20 points off turnovers. JCSU dominated inside the paint outperforming CU 36-24.

JCSU had 12 players to see action and 10 of them scored.

With the win, JCSU stays atop the CIAA South with a 3-1 record tied with Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State. The Golden Bulls stand at 10-10 overall and 7-3 in conference play.

Claflin falls to 11-10, 8-6 and 4-4 in the division.

JCSU returns to action Wednesday when they host Winston-Salem State in a critical Southern Division matchup. Tip off is 5:30 p.m. inside Brayboy Gymnasium.