GREENWOOD – Shannon McKever led Lander in the first half while Kaylyn Small came up big off the bench in the second half, pacing the Lady Bearcats to a 100-78 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball victory over Augusta State Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the Peach Belt while the Jaguars dropped to 3-10, 1-5.
McKever scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half while Small scored all 13 of her points in the second half. Brianna Webb added 17 points for the Lady Bearcats while TaSheba Butler scored 14 and Ciara Lyons 12. Small fell just short of a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds while Nardia Robbins had eight points and five assists.
Augusta's Nicole Mealing led all scorers with 20 points, Jasmine Godwin added 14 points, and Asha Gwynn, Brittany Jarrard and Tracey Paschal scored 10 points apiece. Eboni Davis and Paschal led the Jaguars with five assists apiece.
Lander built a commanding 56-32 halftime lead behind 69 percent shooting from the floor, making 25 of 36 shots including four of seven from behind the 3-point arc. McKever (7-for-8) and Webb (5-for-6) were a combined 12-of-14 in the first half.
The Lady Bearcats took control of the game early after watching an 11-2 lead shrink to 15-12. Lander scored 12 unanswered points with McKever scoring three times to build a 27-12 lead at the 10:17 mark. McKever had already scored in double figures by this time.
Augusta State got within 10 points, 31-21, when Mealing hit two free throws with 6:26 left. After Mealing's 3-pointer pulled the Jaguars within 39-26, Lander scored 11 unanswered points to lead 50-26 with 1:49 left in the half. The hosts led by 24 at the break.
McKever (14) and Webb (12) scored a combined 26 points in the first half when the Lady Bearcats forced 17 turnovers, converting steals into points seven times. Three times, Mukia Myrick followed up her steals with driving lay-ups to pace the Lander defense in the first half.
Augusta scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to close within 58-40 and twice got within 17 on baskets by Mealing. But Small came off the bench to spark the Lady Bearcats, scoring seven consecutive points for her team on a basket, a three-point play, and an offensive rebound put-back for a 69-47 lead.
Augusta continued to make the game respectable, battling back to within 15 points, 71-56, on Jarrard's 3-pointer with 11 minutes left. But Lander quickly stretched the lead back to 20, 76-56, on Butler's three-point play and Jasmine Judge's two free throws.
Jarrard's second 3-pointer of the night cut Augusta's deficit to 15 again, 80-65, with 7:20 to go. But the Lady Bearcats responded with their biggest run of the second half, outscoring the visitors 11-2 with Webb scoring five points and Small four for a 91-67 advantage.
Katie Hupp scored inside with 48 seconds left as Lander hit the 100-point mark for the fourth time this season.
The Lady Bearcats finished the game shooting 59 percent from the floor, hitting 41 of 69 attempts. Lander made 13 of 22 free throws (59 percent), and five of 13 from behind the arc (39 percent). Augusta hit 32 of 64 shots (50 percent), eight of 12 free throws (75 percent), and six of 17 from 3-point range (35 percent). Each team had 33 rebounds while the Lady Bearcats forced 27 turnovers while commiting 17.
