GREENWOOD – Ivy Ramsey hit three important 3-pointers in the final five minutes as UNC Pembroke rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat Lander 73-64 in Peach Belt Conference women's basketball Wednesday night at Horne Arena.

Pembroke improved to 9-12 overall and 6-4 in the Peach Belt. The Lady Bearcats fell to 11-9, 5-4. The teams split the season series with Lander also winning by nine points, 75-66, at Pembroke, N.C., on Jan. 17. With the loss, the Lady Bearcats fell out of first place in the PBC's North Division.

Ramsey hit 4-of-4 from 3-point range and led the Lady Braves with 17 points. Victoria Willis added 16 points and six assists for UNCP, Natalie Ray scored 12 points, and Natasha Stotler had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Tiara Good led Lander with 19 points while adding eight assists and eight rebounds, Stephanie Ponds had her ninth double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, Tierra Kirkland had 10 points and nine rebounds, and April McClendon had 10 points and seven boards.

Pembroke trailed the entire game until tying it at 46-all on Kristina Homesley's 3-pointer with 10:41 left. But Kirkland and McClendon scored to restore Lander's lead to 50-46. The Lady Braves took their first lead at 53-52 on a lay-up by DeNeer Davis at the 7:50 mark.

Good hit a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bearcats back on top at 55-53. But Stotler scored to tie the game, and Ramsey hit the first of her big 3s at crucial points of the game when she gave Pembroke a 58-55 lead at the 4:45 mark.

After McClendon hit two free throws for Lander, Ramsey hit another trey to push UNCP's lead to 61-57 with 4:24 to go. After Stotler scored to put the Lady Braves up by six, Lander seemed to gain some life on back-to-back lay-ups by McClendon and Ponds. The baskets pulled the Lady Bearcats within 63-61 with 2:41 to go.

But Ramsey stuck another dagger into Lander when she hit a 3-pointer at the 1:37 mark for a 66-61 advantage. UNCP closed out the win with three Willis free throws, and two free throws and a lay-up by Ray.

It appeared that the Lady Bearcats might break the game open in the first half when they went on an 18-7 run to extend a 6-4 edge to 24-9 with 11:39 left. Ponds already had 10 points by the 14:50 mark of the first half and Anna Fleming scored on three jump shots in the lane.

But Pembroke went on a 14-2 spurt that included 10 unanswered points to get back into the game. Ramsey's 3-pointer capped the run, pulling the Braves within 26-23 with 4:10 left. Lander's lead shrunk to two, 28-26, on Ramsey's free throw at the 2:29 mark. The Lady Bearcats nudged their lead to 32-28 at halftime.

At one point in the first half, Lander was 11-for-17 (65 percent) from the floor. But the hosts missed 20 of their last 25 shots to close at 16-for-42 (38 percent) at the break.

The Lady Bearcats had a similar second half of shooting and finished 28-of-75 from the floor (37 percent), 5-of-6 from the free-throw line (83 percent), and 3-of-14 from behind the 3-point line (21 percent). UNCP hit 28-of-65 from the floor (43 percent), 11-of-14 from the line (79 percent), and 6-of-13 from behind the arc (46 percent). Lander had a 45-40 edge on the boards.