MORROW, Ga. - The No. 21 ranked Lander women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday afternoon when the Lady Bearcats fell to No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne, 77-71, during the first day of the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic at Clayton State University.
Lander moves to 7-1 overall, while Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 8-2.
Shannon McKever led the Lady Bearcat attack with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Jasmine Judge added 12 points and Tasheba Butler 10.
The Lady Bears were led by Amber Holt's game-high 24 points, while Jami Safrit added 17 and Denise Moore 12. Holt also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and Safrit and Brittany Mitch each had five.
After being tied 36-36 at halftime, Lenoir-Rhyne went on a 9-0 run to take a 45-36 lead with 16:15 left in the game on Safrit's three-point play.
Brianna Webb gave the Lady Bearcats their first basket of the half when she sank a three pointer at 15:55. The Lady Bearcats cut the margin to 47-45 on Kami Phillips' layup at the 13:45 mark and took a 48-47 lead at 12:52 on Nardia Robbins' three-pointer.
After going back and forth, Lander went on a 13-0 tear and posted a 63-54 lead on Webb's three pointer with 8:04 remaining.
Lenoir-Rhyne retaliated with an 8-0 run to cut the margin to 63-62 at 5:52 on Denise Moore's jumper, then tied the game at 68-68 on Holt's three-pointer with 3:33 left. Cameron Sealey's jumper at 2:45 gave L-R a 70-68 advantage and a lead the Lady Bears would not relinquish as they connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 47 seconds.
L-R opened the game on a 6-1 run only to have Lander bounce back and take a 12-10 lead on Judge's three pointer at 14:30.
After the Lady Bears tied the game at 14-14 on Precious Elkins' jumper at 12-12, neither team could pull away from the other as they went to the lockerroom tied at 36-36.
Lander connected on 28-of-60 field goals for 46.7 percent, including 9-of-22 three pointers. The Lady Bearcats made just 6-of-16 free throws for 37.5 percent.
Lenoir-Rhyne was 30-of-56 from the field for 53.6 percent, including 5-of-11 from the three-point line. L-R also made 12-of-15 free throws for 80 percent.
