GREENWOOD – Tiara Good scored 29 points including the go-ahead basket in overtime and Lander survived a missed free throw in the final seconds to beat Columbus State 79-78 in a wild Peach Belt Conference game Saturday night at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 14-11 overall and 8-6 in the Peach Belt. Columbus, which rallied from a 17-point second half deficit, fell to 17-8, 9-5.

Bryony Crouch added 17 points for the Lady Bearcats while Stephanie Ponds had 16 points and 12 rebounds, including 11 defensive boards. Good added nine assists while Ponds had four blocked shots.

Cherwonna Walker led the Lady Cougars with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tamara Peterson added 15 points including a dramatic game-tying shot at the end of regulation, and Kayleigh Epps contributed 11 points. Peterson also had seven assists and four steals.

Lander led 70-64 when Tierra Kirkland hit a free throw with approximately four minutes left in regulation. Columbus scored the final six points of regulation with Walker hitting two free throws at the 1:49 mark and Peterson scoring with 1:18 left. After the Lady Bearcats missed two shots and a free throw in the final minute, Peterson went the length of the court to score the game-tying basket.

Walker's jumper gave the Lady Cougars a 74-71 lead with 2:45 left in overtime. But Crouch hit two free throws at the 2:19 mark and Good nailed a 3-pointer with 1:44 to go to give Lander a 76-74 advantage. But seconds later, Epps hit a 3-pointer to put Columbus back on top, 77-76, setting the stage for a wild finish.

Good scored with approximately 20 seconds left to give the Lady Bearcats a 78-77 lead and April McClendon added a free throw with four seconds to go. Columbus's Ashley Stafford was fouled with three-tenths of a second left and made the first free throw but missed the second, leaving the Lady Cougars one point short.

Good had 15 points and Ponds 14 as Lander ended the first half with a 12-4 run to lead 39-31 at the intermission. Good's 3-pointer with 17 minutes left gave the Lady Bearcats their largest lead of the game at 52-35. The Lady Bearcats still had a double-figure lead with 11 minutes to go on Good's basket that made it 59-49.

For the game, Lander made 30 of 82 shots from the floor (37 percent), 12 of 35 from 3-point range (34 percent), and seven of 10 free throws (70 percent). Columbus hit 29 of 77 shots (38 percent) from the field, seven of 14 from behind the arc (50 percent), and 13 of 17 free throws (77 percent). The Lady Cougars had a 53-51 edge on the boards.