GREENWOOD – After losing their last game by 40 points, the Lander Lady Bearcats kept this one close.
Lander pulled within three points or less on 14 occasions in the second half Monday night but could never take the lead, falling to USC Upstate 84-77 in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball at Horne Arena.
USC Upstate improved to 12-9 overall and 9-5 in the Peach Belt. The Lady Bearcats fell to 4-16, 0-13.
Courtney Bradley led the Lady Spartans with 19 points, Ebony Johnson scored 15 points, Yakeeshia Ross added 12 points, and Lele Miles had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Lander, which had four players play the entire 40 minutes, was led by Shatora Irby's 21 points and nine rebounds. Shaquanta Glaze had 20 points and eight boards, Jennifer Hukill scored 14 points, and Tara Nyikavaranda had 13 points and eight rebounds. Lashaundra Dubose contributed nine points and seven assists. The Lady Bearcats played six with only Nyikavaranda getting a breather, playing all but four minutes.
It was Lander's highest point total in a loss this season.
On several occasions in the second half, the Lady Bearcats cut deficits into a single-possession game. But in almost every case, USC Upstate responded with points on the other end. Once, Lander had pulled within two points and got the ball back with a chance to tie of take the lead. This was after Irby's driving layup cut it to 63-61 with 8:35 to go. But the Lady Bearcats were called for an offensive foul and Upstate scored the game's next five points on Bradley's layup and Kristen Metcalf's 3-pointer.
Irby hit a 3-pointer to pull Lander within 68-64 with 6:55 left. But the Lady Spartans immediately extended their lead to eight on baskets by Metcalf and Ross for a 72-64 lead. The Lady Bearcats got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
USC Upstate used an 18-2 run midway through the first half to build a big lead. But the Lady Bearcats closed the half with a 9-1 run to pull within 41-38 at the intermission. Lander started off strong, taking a 19-13 lead on an Irby 3-pointer with 9:44 to go. USC Upstate scored 18 of the game's next 20 points to lead 31-21 at the 6:09 mark. Lander trailed 40-29 with 1:22 to go but closed the half strong on 3-pointers by Irby and Hukill, and Dubose's three-point play.
For the game, Lander made 27-of-67 shots from the floor (40 percent), 14-of-18 from the free-throw line (78 percent), and 9-of-26 from 3-point range (35 percent). USC Upstate hit 31-of-66 shots from the field (47 percent), 18-of-25 from the line (72 percent), and 4-of-7 from behind the arc (57 percent). The Lady Spartans had a 42-41 edge on the boards and committed only nine turnovers to Lander's 14.
