ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The No. 20-ranked Lander women's basketball team won its fifth straight game and remained undefeated in Peach Belt Conference play Saturday afternoon when the Lady Bearcats outlasted Flagler College, 81-75, in overtime.
Lander improves to 12-1 overall and 5-0 in the PBC, while Flagler falls to 6-6 and 1-2. Lander will host UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, Jan. 13 in a PBC contest in Horne Arena.
Jasmine Judge led the Lady Bearcats with 16 points on 5-of-11 three pointers and 1-of-2 free throws. Shannon McKever and Tasheba Butler both added double-doubles. McKever had 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Butler totaled 14 points and 11 boards. Ciara Lyons added 10 points.
Flagler's Jalisa Foster scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Saints. Foster connected on 6-of-11 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws. Chanti Beckett added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Charlsea Owen and Jen Knurek added 11 points each.
After regulation ended 65-65, Flagler took a 67-65 lead on Beckett's jumper only to have Lander come back and trim the lead on a Ciara Lyons free throw with 4:24 left. A Judge three pointer at 3:50 gave Lander a 69-67 advantage, then the Lady Bearcats stretched the lead to 70-67 on Lyons' jumper at 3:27.
Foster's two free throws at 3:07 cut Lander's lead to 70-69, but Lyons answered with a layup for a 72-69 lead at 2:50. Flagler came right back with a Foster jumper to make it 72-71 at 2:27, but another Lyons layup on the next possession put Lander up 74-71. Lander's Brittni Johnson followed with a pair of free throws to give Lander a 76-71 lead with 1:51 left.
Lander, which led 35-25 at halftime, connected on 30-of-75 floor shots for 40 percent, including 6-of-17 three pointers for 35.3 percent. The Lady Bearcats also made 15-of-22 free throws for 68.2 percent.
Flagler made 24-of-53 field goals for 45.3 percent, including 2-of-9 three pointers for 22.2 percent. The Lady Saints also made 25-of-32 foul shots for 78.1 percent.
After the game started with ties at 2-2, 6-6, and 8-8, Flagler made a 6-0 run to post a 14-8 lead on Owen's layup with 14:15 left in the first half. Lander battled back to tie the contest at 18-18 on Kaylyn Small's layup with 11:17 left.
The lead changed hands three more times before Lander ended the half with a 12-2 run.
Lander opened the second half on an 11-6 run and took a 46-31 lead on Judge's three pointer with 15:55 left in regulation. The Lady Saints countered with a 21-6 run and tied the game at 52-52 with 7:30 left on a pair of Beckett free throws.
The two teams were tied four more times before a pair of Mitchell free throws with 1:18 left forced the overtime.
