GREENWOOD – The Lander men's basketball team has opened its season with eight consecutive wins, and now the Lady Bearcats have matched that eight-game winning streak after beating Fayetteville State University 67-58 Monday night at Horne Arena.

Lander, which opened its season with two road losses, has not been beaten since Nov. 16 and improved to 8-2. The Broncos fell to 4-3.

The Lady Bearcats put together a late 9-0 run that extended a 58-54 lead with 3:19 left to 67-54 with 1:38 to go.

Bre Crum and Ty'hesha Reynolds led Lander with 15 points apiece while Kayla West added 14 points. Crum made six of 10 shots from the floor while West hit five of seven. Breshay Johnson made four of five shots and finished with eight points for Lander.

Reynolds paced the Lady Bearcats with five assists, Crum led them with four steals, and Aarika Judge was Lander's top rebounder with five.

Doreen Richardson led Fayetteville State with 15 points, Shaquanza Manning added 13 points, and Deja Middleton posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bria Robinson added 10 rebounds as the Broncos had a commanding 41-22 edge on the boards. Middleton also blocked four shots while Richardson paced Fayetteville with four assists while Robinson had four steals.

Lander forced 40 turnovers while only committing 18. The Lady Bearcats had 31 points off turnovers.

Fayetteville State had a strong shooting night, making 22 of 39 from the floor (56 percent), 11 of 14 free throws (79 percent) and three of five from 3-point range (60 percent).

Lander made 23 of 61 shots (38 percent), 13 of 20 free throws (65 percent) and eight of 24 from behind the arc (33 percent).

West hit a 3-pointer, giving the Lady Bearcats a 15-10 advantage with 11:17 left in the first half. Ashleigh Zandi had a shot blocked, but got the rebound and scored for Lander's largest lead of the opening half at 23-14 with 8:44 to go.

But Fayetteville State scored 10 unanswered points, taking a 24-23 lead at the six-minute mark on a basket by Bria Evans. Manning had scored the first eight points during the run, making a 3, swishing two free throws, and hitting another 3.

Portia McCray's free throw ended the run and West put Lander back on top, 26-24, with five minutes to go. The Broncos would take their last lead of the game at 28-27 with 2:52 left on Robinson's inside bucket.

Lander closed the first half with a 10-2 run, with West making a 3 and an inside basket, Reynolds converting a three-point play, and Johnson scoring inside for a 37-30 advantage at the break.

The Lady Bearcats opened the second half with a hot streak behind the arc as Crum hit two in a row and Reynolds added one for a 48-34 lead with 15:24 to go. It would be Lander's biggest lead of the game.

After Manning's 3 sparked a 6-0 Fayetteville run to pull the visitors within 48-40, Crum's layup and another Reynolds 3 pushed Lander's lead to 53-40 at the nine-minute mark.

Richardson's jumper pulled the Broncos within 55-48 with 5:42 to go, and Shamiaya Battle's free throws cut it to 56-50 at the five-minute mark.

Middleton's free throws closed Fayetteville's deficit to 58-54 with 3:19 left. But West responded with a fast-break layup that would ignite a 9-0 Lady Bearcats run. West would also hit one of two free throws on Lander's next possession. Then Judge hit a crucial 3, extending the Lady Bearcats lead to 64-54 with 2:53 to go.

West made one of two free throws again, and Crum added a layup to make it 67-54 with 1:38 left.