GREENWOOD – Mylea McKenith and Cierra Kendrick played starring roles as the Lander women extended their winning streak to nine with a 90-81 victory over fierce Peach Belt Conference rival Clayton State Thursday night at Horne Arena.

The Lady Bearcats improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the Peach Belt.

Clayton State, like Lander a perennial contender in the PBC, fell to 6-4, 0-1.

Less than four years ago, Lander met Clayton State when they were ranked 1-2 in the nation and they also played in the national Sweet 16 that year.

McKenith and Kendrick came off the bench to combine for 11-for-17 shooting from the floor and 27 points. McKenith scored 14 points (six of 10 shooting) and Kendrick added 13 points (five for seven).

The Lady Bearcats had six double-figure scorers as Breshay Johnson added 13 points, Kayla West scored 11, and Aarika Judge and Ty'hesha Reynolds 10 points apiece.

Kendrick and Portia McCray led Lander with seven rebounds apiece, Ashleigh Zandi added eight points and six rebounds, Bre Crum paced the Lady Bearcats with six assists while Judge led them with five steals.

Clayton State's Yishica Sims led all scorers with 23 points, Tiayra Green added 18 points, Kenisha Jones-Barret scored 17, and DaQueena Moore added 11.

Kimberly Sinisterra paced the Lakers with 11 rebounds while Sims added eight boards. Kayla Price and Jones-Barret led Clayton State with five assists apiece.

Lander took 23 more shots from the floor than the Lakers and had 40 bench points.

The Lady Bearcats made 33 of 78 shots from the floor (42 percent), 17 of 25 free throws (68 percent) and seven of 27 from 3-point range (26 percent) while out-rebounding Clayton State 42-35.

The Lakers hit 28 of 55 shots (51 percent), 17 of 21 free throws (81 percent) and eight of 17 from behind the arc (47 percent). But despite the strong shooting effort, Clayton State hurt itself with 29 turnovers. Lander had 30 points off turnovers to only 10 for the Lakers.

Clayton State took a 12-11 lead on Green's basket with 15:47 left. But the Lady Bearcats used a 13-3 run to take a 24-15 advantage with 12:13 to go. Johnson started the run with a basket inside, West made a 3, McKenith scored three consecutive Lander baskets, and Sakezia Kelly added a layup.

Sims made two free throws and hit a 3, pulling the Lakers within 24-20. But the Lady Bearcats went on another streak, outscoring Clayton State 10-1 for a 34-21 lead with 8:30 left. Kendrick scored inside, Crum made a free throw, Reynolds scored off Zandi's steal, Johnson hit a layup off McCray's steal, and Zandi made a 3 to extend Lander's lead to 13.

Then it was the Lakers turn to put together a run, outscoring the hosts 12-2 to pull within 36-33 with 5:15 left. Six different Clayton State players scored during the run, with Ashley Cunningham's basket cutting the deficit to three.

Jones-Barret's basket pulled the Lakers within 40-38 with 3:56 left in the first half and she scored again with 2:09 to go, tying the game at 40.

Lander finished the first half strong, with Kendrick making a jumper inside and Reynolds hitting a layup to extend a one-point lead with under a minute left to 49-44 at halftime.

The Lady Bearcats quickly extended their lead back into double digits in the first minute of the second half when Judge made a 3, and Reynolds hit a fast-break layup off Judge's back-court steal to make it 54-44.

But Clayton State stormed back within two, 56-54, with 17:35 to go on a 10-2 run including Jones-Barret's 3, a Sims 3 and inside basket, and Green's bucket.

Zandi made a put-back and a 3 to help push Lander's lead to 63-54 with 15:51 left. But Jones-Barret's 3 and Green's fast-break basket pulled the Lakers within 65-64 with 14:16 to go.

The trend continued with the Lady Bearcats going back up by 10, 74-64, at the 12-minute mark. Kendrick scored twice during Lander's 9-0 run, including a three-point play.

Judge's back-court interception and driving layup gave the Lady Bearcats a 77-69 advantage at the nine-minute mark. Moore's three-point play helped the Lakers close within 77-74 with seven minutes to go.

Lander extended its lead again as West and McKenith scored four points apiece during a 10-3 run, making it 87-77 at the four-minute mark. This time, Clayton State had no answer.

Crum's two free throws upped the Lady Bearcats lead to 90-79 with 1:33 to go.