GREENWOOD – Tiara Good hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, rallying the Lander Lady Bearcats to a wild 70-69 Peach Belt Conference victory over Columbus State Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena. Lander had trailed by eight points with a little more than a minute to go.
Lander improved to 8-4 overall and 3-0 in the Peach Belt. Columbus State fell to 5-4, 1-1.
Good led the Lady Bearcats with 19 points, LaShonda Chiles scored 17 points, TaSheba Butler had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds while hitting two big 3-pointers in the final minute, and Shannon McKever scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Lander won despite its lowest point total of the season. Its previous low came in an 84-71 loss to Assumption in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 4. The Lady Bearcats went into Saturday's action averaging 93 points per game but had only 59 with just over a minute left.
Ashley Stafford led Columbus State with 16 points while Turelle Jones and KeAnna Vicks added 10 points apiece. Stafford and Hali Moore led the Lady Cougars with eight rebounds apiece.
Chiles scored off a steal to pull Lander within 64-59 with 2:15 left. But Maria Grimes hit one free throw and Stafford added two, extending Columbus's lead back to 67-59 at the 1:18 mark.
Good's 3-pointer from the left corner pulled Lander closer at 67-62 with 1:12 to go. After the Lady Cougars were charged with an offensive foul, Butler nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to close Lander within 67-65 with 39 seconds left.
Columbus extended the lead to 69-65 when Jessica Edwards found Jones open under the basket for a lay-up with 13 seconds to go. Butler hit another 3-pointer with six seconds left to close the Lady Bearcats within 69-68.
Stafford was fouled immediately with 3.9 seconds left and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Good got the defensive rebound, was fouled, and calmly swished two free throws to give Lander the lead. Stafford's desperation 3-point attempt hit the front of the rim at the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration for the home team.
The lead changed hands four times early in the second half, starting with Chiles hitting a 3-pointer that put Lander on top for the first time since the opening minutes at 31-30 with 17:55 left in the game.
Columbus State retook the lead, going up 49-44 and 54-49 on 3-pointers by Chauntel Ferdinand and Grimes. Grimes answered a short Lander rally with another 3-pointer to make it 57-53. Moore scored inside to make it 61-55 with 4:20 left and added two free throws for a 64-55 lead with 3:13 to go. The Lady Bearcats barely made a dent into their deficit until the wild final minute.
Lander struggled in the first half but trailed only 28-26 at the intermission. With nine minutes left in the first half, the Lady Bearcats had as many turnovers (10) as points. Also, Lander missed its first eight free throws before Kianna Smith hit two with 57 seconds left in the half.
In the first half, the Lady Bearcats made only 11 of 30 shots from the floor (37 percent) and two of 10 free throws (20 percent). But Columbus also struggled in the first half, making nine of 34 shots (27 percent) and one of eight from behind the 3-point line (13 percent).
Columbus State used an 11-3 run to extend a 9-8 lead to 20-12. The Lady Bearcats closed within 22-18 when Chiles scored with five minutes left. But the Lady Cougars scored the game's next six points – four by Sicka – to build their lead back into double figures at 28-18 with 3:29 to go.
Good hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull Lander within 28-24. Smith's two free throws off an intentional foul closed the gap to 28-26 at the half.
For the game, Lander made 27 of 68 shots from the floor (40 percent), eight of 16 free throws (50 percent) and eight of 31 from 3-point range (26 percent). Columbus State made 23 of 63 shots (37 percent), 18 of 25 free throws (72 percent), and five of 19 from behind the arc (26 percent). The Lady Bearcats had a 50-42 edge on the boards and committed 17 turnovers, but only four in the second half. The Lady Cougars had 14 turnovers.
