GREENWOOD - Shannon McKever and Brittni Johnson orchestrated a magnificent stretch run, carrying the No. 8 Lander Lady Bearcats to a crucial 74-68 Peach Belt Conference victory over No. 15 Clayton State Thursday night at Horne Arena, giving Lander its school-record 14th consecutive win.
The Lady Bearcats improved to 21-1 overall and 14-0 in the Peach Belt. The Lakers fell to 19-4, 9-3.
McKever led Lander with her 10th double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Johnson added 16 points, five steals and four assists.
Mukia Myrick had 13 points and five assists, while Tasheba Butler contributed 12 points and seven boards.
Teshymia Tillman led Clayton State with 19 points, LaDe'Sha Stoudamire had 16 points, nine assists and four blocked shots, and Tanisha Woodard added 14 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
Lander closed the game with a 14-4 run, including 10 unanswered points that turned a 64-60 deficit with 4:53 left into a 70-64 lead with 42 seconds to go. McKever scored the first eight points of the rally with four consecutive baskets, and Johnson closed the run with a fast-break lay-up and four free throws.
Trailing 64-60, the Lady Bearcats went on a flurry to take the lead. McKever scored in the paint, was fouled, and missed her free throw. But Butler grabbed the offensive rebound, and after a missed shot, Johnson leaped high for another offensive rebound, and McKever scored again to tie the game at 64 at the 3:47 mark. After Clayton State missed a shot, Johnson passed inside to McKever to give the hosts a 66-64 lead with 2:40 left.
The Lakers missed a jumper, Butler grabbed the defensive board and found McKever for yet another lay-up, giving Lander a 68-64 advantage at the 1:55 mark. Then McKever contributed on the defensive end, getting a steal with 1:33 to go. While the Lady Bearcats failed to score, Clayton turned the ball back over with Myrick recording the steal just under the minute mark.
Johnson hit two free throws for a 70-64 lead with 41.8 seconds left. Woodard's free throw pulled the Lakers within 70-65 with 32.6 seconds to go. On the ensuing in-bounds play, McKever threw a long pass to Johnson, who drove in for a lay-up to increase the lead to seven, 72-65. Seconds later, Myrick got another back-court steal, Johnson was fouled, and she made both free throws, making it 74-65 with 18.8 seconds to go.
Woodard's 3-pointer from the top of the key cut Clayton's deficit to 74-68 with 11 seconds left. But Lander's Johnson wound up with the ball again and dribbled out the clock to clinch the victory.
Responding to a large, enthusiastic crowd, Lander quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead on fast-break baskets by Ciara Lyons, Johnson and Butler. But Clayton State scored 10 unanswered points as part of a 14-4 run, giving the visitors a 16-10 lead with 13:41 to go.
Lander responded with six unanswered points as part of a 14-4 run of its own, tying the game at 16-all on Kaylyn Small's put-back at the 11:21 mark. Trailing 18-16, the Lady Bearcats completed their 14-4 run with baskets by Small, Keondra Barnes, and McKever to take a 24-20 lead with eight minutes left in the half.
The Lakers went on a 16-4 run, taking the first-half lead for good on a Tillman lay-up with 7:16 left, making it 25-24. Genesis Kelly's 3-pointer kept the rally going and Tillman's lay-up at the 2:41 mark gave Clayton State its largest lead of the half at 36-28.
Lander closed the half with a 7-0 run, including Myrick's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 30 seconds left and Johnson's two free throws with four seconds to go as the Lady Bearcats closed within 36-35 at halftime.
Clayton State twice led by four early in the second half, but Lander stormed back to tie the game at 42-all on McKever's jumper and took its first lead since the opening half on Butler's basket, making it 44-42 with 16:28 to go. The Lakers went on an 8-0 run, taking a 50-44 lead with 14:41 left keyed by Woodard's put-back and two free throws.
The Lady Bearcats responded with an 8-2 lead, tying it at 52 with 12:12 left when Barnes grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a lay-up. Once again, Clayton State re-established a lead by as much as four. Johnson twice scored to pull Lander within two at 58-56 and 60-58, and assisted on Butler's basket to pull Lander within 62-60. But the Lakers responded with a basket each time until McKever got hot down the stretch.
For the game, Lander made 31 of 73 shots from the floor (43 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), and only one of 12 shots from 3-point range (8 percent).
Clayton hit 29 of 72 shots (40 percent), eight of 10 free throws (80 percent), and two of 10 from behind the arc (20 percent).
The Lakers had a 45-42 edge on the boards. Clayton committed 25 turnovers to 20 for Lander.
