GREENWOOD – Tiara Good scored 24 points and April McClendon added a career-high 18 points, leading Lander to an 85-80 victory over Armstrong Atlantic State in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball Saturday night at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 8-8 overall and 3-3 in the Peach Belt. Armstrong fell to 10-7, 4-2.
Good did a lot of her damage from the free-throw line, making 11 of 12 from the stripe as the Lady Bearcats outscored Armstrong 20-5 from the line.
Stephanie Ponds added 16 points and four blocked shots for Lander, while Tierra Kirkland contributed her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Bryony Crouch had eight points while leading Lander with seven assists. Good nearly had a double double, posting nine rebounds while adding six assists.
Tara Griffiths led Armstrong with 23 points including five 3-pointers, Kaneetha Gordon had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Nicole Hornage chipped in 13 points. Jasmine Herron had a game high 10 assists for the Lady Pirates.
Lander took the lead for good at 72-70 with 5:10 left on McClendon's put back, starting an 8-0 run. Ponds scored twice to pad the lead to 76-70, scoring the first points inside when she put back her own miss and then hitting a shot from just inside the arc. Good hit two free throws to complete the run.
Crouch's 3-pointer gave the Lady Bearcats some breathing room, making it 81-74 with 1:30 to go. But Armstrong kept battling, pulling with 83-80 with 29 seconds left on Gordon's basket in the paint. McClendon hit one free throw with 15 seconds remaining, making it 84-80. Then Ponds emphatically blocked a shot in the lane by Griffiths and Good added a free throw to close out the win.
Armstrong raced to leads of 9-2 and 18-9 behind eight points from Griffiths. But the Lady Bearcats responded with seven unanswered points to pull within 18-16, which was the start of a 26-8 run that spanned nine minutes.
Kirkland's basket gave Lander its first lead of the half at 22-20 at the 6:25 mark. Good's 3-pointer ended the 26-8 run, extending the lead to 35-36 with 2:07 left. The Lady Bearcats led 37-31 at halftime on the strength of 47 percent shooting (16 of 34) from the field.
The lead changed hands several times in the second half until the five-minute mark when Lander took the lead for good.
The Lady Bearcats finished the game making 30 of 69 shots from the floor (44 percent), 20 of 27 free throws (74 percent), and 5 of 18 from 3-point range (28 percent). Armstrong made 33 of 69 shots from the field (48 percent), 5 of 7 free throws (71 percent), and 9 of 23 from behind the arc (39 percent). Lander outrebounded the visitors 43-38. Armstrong had 23 turnovers to 21 for the Lady Bearcats.
