GREENWOOD – USC Aiken's Morgan Johnson recorded a double-double as the No. 19-ranked Lady Pacers turned back several Lander rallies, defeating the Lady Bearcats 87-75 in a Peach Belt Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
Lander had cut a 20-point deficit late in the first half down to three halfway through the second half, fell back behind by 11, and pulled within three again with six minutes to go before running out of rallies. Aiken was able to hang on by hitting 28 of 32 free throws.
The Pacers improved to 14-4 overall and 6-2 in the Peach Belt while Lander dropped to 9-6, 4-4.
Johnson had 22 points and 13 rebounds, made 12-of-12 free throws, and had six blocked shots. Kendra Chandler added 17 points for Aiken, including 7-of-8 free throws. Megan Starnes scored 16 points while Meredith Legg added 14 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half that killed a Lander rally.
Ciara Lyons, Shannon McKever and TaSheba Butler scored 13 points apiece for the Lady Bearcats. Brianna Webb scored 12 points while Brittni Johnson added 10 points and four assists. McKever led her team with seven rebounds.
USC Aiken outscored Lander 39-16 over the final 15 minutes of the first half to build a 49-31 halftime lead. Nardia Robbins hit a 3-pointer while McKever and Butler scored two baskets apiece to stake the Lady Bearcats to a 15-10 lead with 15:15 left in the half.
But Aiken started its surge with a 21-4 run for a 31-19 lead at the 7:50 mark with Starnes scoring seven of those points and Chandler adding six. Lander got not closer than nine points the rest of the half while the Pacers went ahead by as many as 20, 49-29, on Johnson's two free throws with 55 seconds left.
Aiken shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half (18-for-31) while the Lady Bearcats hit only 34 percent (12-for-35). No Lander player had more than four points in the first half.
The Lady Bearcats chipped away at their 18-point halftime deficit, pulling within single digits at 53-44 with 15:18 left when Butler made two free throws. A key play during the 13-4 run occurred when Brittni Johnson converted a steal into a three-point play.
The Pacers extended their lead back to 12, 59-47, on two Morgan Johnson free throws. But Lander scored nine unanswered points on Webb's 3-pointer, Butler's two free throws, and two baskets by Lyons off steals to pull within 59-56 with 10:14 left.
Aiken extended its lead by hitting 6-of-8 free throws and getting a basket from Chandler off a steal for a 67-56 lead with 7:32 left. But the Lady Bearcats rallied again with eight unanswered points, with Butler scoring five on a three-point play and a pair of free throws and Robbins hitting a 3-pointer to close the gap to 67-64 at the six-minute mark.
Once again, the Pacers responded to the rally with Legg hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to push their lead back to nine, 73-64, with 5:05 to go. Aiken would lead by as many as 10, 78-68, with 3:03 to go.
Lander got back within seven, 78-71, on Brittni Johnson's three-point play with 2:51 left. But the Pacers extended their lead to 12, 84-72, on a Starnes lay-up with 53 seconds to go.
For the game, the Lady Bearcats made 25 of 72 shots from the floor (35 percent), 20 of 32 free throws (63 percent), and five of 20 from behind the 3-point line (25 percent). Aiken hit 26-of-49 shots (53 percent), nailed 88 percent from the line, and made seven of 15 from behind the arc (47 percent). The Pacers had a 40-37 edge on the boards. Lander forced 22 turnovers and committed 13.
