NEWBERRY - The fourth-ranked Lander women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit to defeat Newberry College, 67-51, in a non-conference game Saturday afternoon in Eleazer Arena.
Lander, which outscored Newberry 44-20 in the second half, remains unbeaten at 4-0, while Newberry drops to 1-1.
Shannon McKever posted her fourth double-double of the season to lead the Lady Bearcats with 23 points and 13 rebounds and barely missed a triple double with nine blocked shots. Nardia Robbins added 15 points, five assists and three steals, while Ciara Lyons had 12 points. Tasheba Butler added eight points and eight rebounds.
Newberry was led Leanne Watson's 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Helen McKinney had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Briana Johnson nine rebounds.
Newberry opened the game with a 9-0 run and held the Lady Bearcats scoreless until Chentieh Ladson made a free throw with 14:50 left in the half.
McKinney's three pointer at 13:10 gave Newberry a 14-1 lead, but Lander cut the lead back to 10 at 14-4 on Brianna Webb's three at 12:56.
The Wolves biggest lead of the half was 15 points at 23-8 on a pair of Leeara Creet free throws with 7:28 left.
Lander rallied in the final minutes of the half to cut the lead to 31-23 at halftime on a McKever layup.
The Lady Bearcats finally tied the game at 40-40 with 12:33 remaining on a McKever layup, then took their first lead, 44-42, at 10:49 on a Lyons' layup.
Lander never trailed again as they outscored Newberry 23-9 the remainder of the game. Lander got its first double-digit advantage at 56-46 with 3:09 remaining on a Butler jumper. The final score was the biggest lead as Butler connected on two free throws with just 19 seconds remaining.
The Lady Bearcats connected on 24-of-59 field goals for 40.7 percent, including 4-of-15 threes for 26.7 percent. Lander also made 15-of-23 free throws for 65.2 percent.
Newberry was 19-of-72 from the floor for 26.4 percent, including 2-of-11 threes for 18.2 percent. The Wolves made 11-of-17 foul shots for 64.7 percent.
Newberry outrebounded Lander, 51-43.
Lander will host UNC Pembroke at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, in its Peach Belt Conference opener in Horne Arena.
