GREENWOOD – Columbus State used 16-2 runs in each half and held off a late Lander rally, beating the Lady Bearcats 72-60 in the Peach Belt Conference women's tournament Thursday night at Finis Horne Arena on the Lander campus.

Columbus State improved to 19-9. The Lady Bearcats ended their season 15-13. Columbus State will meet USC Aiken in the tournament semifinals on Saturday.

Shanrika Hardeman led the Lady Cougars with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and added eight rebounds. Monica Sicka scored 11 points, Arlanderia Whitlock had nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range, and Tamara Peterson added a game-high seven assists.

Peach Belt Women's Player of the Year Tiara Good led Lander with a
game-high 28 points. Stephanie Ponds had a game-high 10 rebounds while Bryony Crouch added nine points and six assists.

Shooting was the big difference in the game. Columbus shot 49 percent from the floor, making 28-of-57 shots. Lander shot only 28 percent from the field, making 19-of-68 attempts.

Good hit four early 3-pointers, the last of which staked the Lady Bearcats
to a 19-15 lead with 10:26 left in the first half. But the first of Columbus's two 16-2 runs turned that deficit into a 31-21 lead. Sicka and Whitlock hit 3-pointers during the run. Columbus led 37-32 at halftime.

Leading 39-34 early in the second half, the Lady Cougars went on another 16-2 run to build their lead to 55-36. Kayleigh Epps and Chauntel Ferninand highlighted the run with 3-pointers.

Lander closed with 57-47 with 7:53 left with a 10-2 run and closed the gap even further with a 15-1 spurt, pulling within 62-58 with 2:20 to go on an Anna Fleming free throw. Ponds had seven of those 15 points.

But Columbus closed the game with a 10-2 run, effectively ending Lander's season. Columbus had lost to the Lady Bearcats in Greenwood just two weeks earlier in an overtime game.