GREENWOOD – Lander's Ciara Lyons and Jasmine Judge had big games while teammate Shannon McKever added a double-double, leading the Lady Bearcats to an 85-71 Peach Belt Conference women's basketball victory over Armstrong Atlantic State University Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the Peach Belt. Armstrong fell to 11-5, 6-3.
Lyons led the Lady Bearcats with 17 points, Judge scored 16 points, and McKever had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Judge, who suffered a broken nose versus USC Aiken on Wednesday and wore a protective mask, hit four 3-pointers. Nardia Robbins added nine points and four assists while Brittni Johnson had eight points and four assists.
Lacy Willis led the Lady Pirates with 17 points, making eight of 11 shots from the floor. Lindsey Holmes scored 14 points while Dartayvia Thomas and Portia Jones added 10 points apiece. Ashley Duhart led Armstrong with seven rebounds and five assists.
The Lady Bearcats did not trail in the game until Willis's steal and driving lay-up gave Armstrong a 17-16 lead with 11:05 left in the first half.
After five ties and several lead changes going into the final five minutes of the half, Lander scored nine unanswered points in about one minute to break a 30-all tie. McKever started the run with a reverse lay-up, Lyons scored on an offensive rebound, Robbins hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Lyons got a steal and lay-up to make it 39-30 with 3:34 left.
After Jones ended Armstrong's drought with a 3-pointer, Robbins scored and Judge followed with a steal and driving lay-up for a 43-33 advantage with 1:58 to go. The Lady Bearcats closed the half on McKever's tip-in at the buzzer for a 47-35 halftime lead. Lander made 19 of 35 shots in the first half (54 percent).
The Pirates closed within five when Holmes hit a 3-pointer, making it 47-42 at the 17:20 mark. But the Lady Bearcats answered with a 12-2 run including 3-pointers by Webb and Judge for a 59-44 lead.
After Armstrong closed within 63-50, Judge hit a 3-pointer, followed that with a steal and pass to Lyons for a lay-up, and hit another 3-pointer for the largest lead of the game at 71-50 with 9:25 to go.
The Pirates rallied with a 13-4 run, closing within 75-63 on a 3-pointer by Jones. But McKever's 3-point play following a technical foul on Armstrong's bench pushed Lander's lead back to 79-63 with 3:02 left.
For the game, Lander made 34 of 72 shots from the floor (47 percent), 10 of 14 free throws (71 percent), and seven of 19 from 3-point range (37 percent). Armstrong hit 27 of 57 shots (47 percent), 11 of 13 free throws (85 percent), and six of 17 from behind the arc (35 percent). The Lady Bearcats had a 38-31 edge on the boards while forcing 21 turnovers.
