MORROW, Ga. – Barton College outscored Lander 26-6 over the first nine minutes of the second half and held off a furious Lady Bearcats rally to win the Heritage Bank Holiday Classic opener 55-51 Saturday afternoon at Clayton State University.

Lander had a chance to tie the game in the final minute despite being down by 13 points midway through the second half.

The tournament continues Sunday with Lander facing Benedict College at 1:30, and Barton taking on host Clayton State at 3:30.

Barton improved to 4-2 on the season while the Lady Bearcats fell to 3-5.

Lea Saunders led Lander with 17 points, Precious Elkins added 12 points, and Aarika Judge had nine points while leading the Lady Bearcats with 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocked shots. Saunders also had four assists.

Shante Neal led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points, Nyeshea Willie had 12 points, and Janae Jackson led Barton with seven rebounds.

Lander made 21 of 59 shots from the floor (36 percent), three of six free throws (50 percent) and six of 26 from 3-point range (23 percent).

Barton hit 22 of 63 shots from the floor (35 percent), nine of 15 from the line (60 percent) and two of five from behind the arc (40 percent).

Lander had a 43-40 edge on the boards but committed 23 turnovers to 16 for Barton.

Judge and Saunders each hit 3s, staking Lander to a 10-4 lead in the first three minutes of the game.

After Jolanda Mitchell's two free throws pulled Barton within 10-8, the Lady Bearcats went on their second 10-2 run of the game to build a 20-10 lead on an Elkins layup with 8:06 left.

Barton responded with eight unanswered points – four by Elaine Morgan – to pull within 20-18 at the 4:39 mark.

But Lander finished the half strong, with Saunders hitting her third and fourth 3s of the game and Elkins making a layup for a 28-21 lead with 2:18 left. The score would remain 28-21 going into halftime.

But Barton scored the first 12 points of the second half, with Mitchell's basket tying it at 28 with 17:36 left. Jackson's basket capped Barton's run, giving them a 32-28 lead at the 16-minute mark. But the Lady Bulldogs would continue to dominate the early stages of the second half.

Elkins scored Lander's first basket of the second half to pull the Lady Bearcats within 32-30 with 15:31 left.

But Barton went back to work, building its lead to 47-34 on Ashley Thornton's basket inside the 11-minute mark. At that point, Barton had outscored Lander 26-6 in the second half.

Morgan's free throw kept Barton ahead 50-38 with 7:26 left. But the Lady Bearcats began a furious rally.

Elkins scored inside and after neither team scored for almost three minutes, Elkins made a layup to draw Lander within 50-42 with 4:38 left.

Judge made a jumper to pull the Lady Bearcats within 50-44 at the 3:12 mark. Barton's nearly five-minute scoring drought ended on Jackson's put-back for a 52-44 lead with 2:40 left.

But Lander's rally wasn't over. Elkins scored again to pull the Lady Bearcats back within six, then Judge got a steal and Saunders made a 3-pointer to close Lander within a possession at 52-49 with 1:28 to go.

Barton missed a shot and Lady Bearcats center Emili Russ grabbed the defensive rebound, giving the team a chance to draw within a point or tie. But Saunders missed a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left.

Jackson made two free throws to extend Barton's lead to 54-49 with 26 seconds left. Russ's layup with nine seconds left cut Lander's deficit to 54-51. But Barton's Willie would add a free throw to clinch the victory.