DAHLONEGA, Ga.----Junior post Jenica Johnson scored a season high 21 points, leading four other Lady Saints in double figures as North Georgia College & State University defeated Lander University 84-53 Wednesday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
The Lady Saints (19-3, 15-0) stormed out in the first half, leading by as many as 13 points 15 minutes into the half. The Lady Bearcats (4-17, 0-14) were able to cut the lead to single digits off of a quick rebound and fast break lay-up from sophomore guard Shatora Irby.
Lander cut the lead to four in the opening minutes of the second half off of a three from Irby. North Georgia called a quick timeout to regroup and had a 42-32 lead five minutes later. The Lady Saints stretched their lead to as many as 33 before closing out the game.
Johnson's 21 led all scorers followed by senior post Lara Seamon who tallied 17 points with seven assists. Senior post Jeanine Dorminey tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Dorminey also swatted four of North Georgia's nine blocks in the game. Freshman guard Syretha Marble also chipped in 11 points with sophomore guard Megan Huffman rounding out the scoring with 12 points and four assists.
Irby and junior center Tara Nyikavaranda scored 15 each for the Lady Bearcats. Nyikavaranda also brought down a team high nine rebounds and dished out three assists.
Both teams shot poorly from the field in the first half, with the Lady Saints hitting 38 percent (12-for-32) and LU only knocking down 32 percent (10-for-32) of their shots. North Georgia stepped its shooting up in the second half to finish 33-for-67 (.493) from the floor while the Lady Bearcats struggled to hit the net, completing 21-of-64 (.328)shots attempted.