GREENWOOD – Lander’s Jennifer Hukill re-emerged from a hot first half just in time and the Lady Bearcats celebrated their first Peach Belt Conference victory of the season, shocking Georgia College and State University 48-45 Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Hukill had a sizzling first half, hitting all six of her shots from 3-point range for 18 points. She only attempted three shots the entire second half and made one, but it was a big one.
Lander, snapping a 15-game losing streak, improved to 5-21 overall and 1-18 in the Peach Belt. Georgia College, the ninth-ranked team in the latest South Region poll, fell to 14-13, 9-11.
The Lady Bearcats, saddled with a lack of depth all season, slowed the game down by playing a deliberate pace and using the shot clock. First-year Lander head coach Kevin Pederson, known for his fast-paced teams at Anderson College, utilized the change in strategy and the players seemed fresher.
Hukill led Lander with 21 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the floor including 7-of-9 from behind the arc. But she didn’t attempt a shot until 10 minutes were gone in the second half.
Cassie Miliner paced the Lady Bobcats with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. LaWanna Leon added 11 points.
Lander led 44-43 with 25.8 seconds left and just four seconds on the shot clock when Pederson called for a timeout. As action resumed guard Bryony Crouch passed inside to Tara Nyikavaranda, who flipped the ball back out to Hukill in the left corner. Hukill swished the 3-pointer to up the Lady Bearcat lead to 47-43.
Leon scored with 14 seconds left to pull Georgia College within 47-45. Crouch hit a free throw with 13 seconds left for what proved to be the final margin. The visitors had a couple opportunities in the last few seconds but missed.
The lead changed hands several times in the second half with Lander taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Crouch from the top of the key with an assist from Hukill. Crouch’s trey gave the Lady Bearcats a 42-40 lead. Nyikavaranda scored inside to push the lead to 44-41 with 1:50 left, setting the stage for the interesting finish.
Hukill single-handedly kept the Lady Bearcats in the game in the first half, hitting 3-pointers that pulled them within 9-8, tied the game at 11, and closed them within 15-14. Her fourth trey with 7:07 left tied the game at 17, and her next 3 gave Lander a 20-17 lead at the 4:40 mark.
Hukill’s last 3-pointer of the half with 54 seconds left gave the Lady Bearcats a 24-23 halftime lead as she scored 18 of her team’s 24 points. Miliner had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half for Georgia College. Lander made 6-of-9 from 3-point range while the Lady Bobcats were 1-for-12.
For the game, the Lady Bearcats made 16-of-46 shots from the floor (35 percent), 7-of-13 free throws (54 percent), and 9-of-18 from 3-point range (50 percent). Georgia College hit 16-of-55 shots from the floor (29 percent), 10-of-13 from the line (77 percent), and 3-of-21 from behind the arc (14 percent).
The Lady Bobcats could not take advantage of a huge 47-24 rebounding edge that included 23 offensive boards.
