GREENWOOD – Mimi Hill and Stephanie Huffman scored a combined 52 points as North Georgia survived a frantic finish, spoiling Lander's Homecoming 72-69 in Peach Belt Conference action Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena. The Lady Bearcats lost despite a big effort by a pair of freshmen with Ty'hesha Reynolds collecting 10 steals and Alexis Armstrong grabbing 18 rebounds.

North Georgia improved to 19-5, 13-4. The Lady Bearcats fell to 11-15 overall and 6-11 in the Peach Belt.

The Nighthawks outscored Lander 26-10 from the free-throw line.

Reynolds posted a double-double for the Lady Bearcats with 26 points in addition to her 10 steals. Reynolds made 10 of 19 shots from the floor and had 10 of her team's 19 steals as Lander forced 28 turnovers.

Armstrong also had a double-double for Lander with 15 points and the 18 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end.

Kayla West had 10 points and a team-leading eight assists for the Lady Bearcats while Portia McCray contributed 12 points.

Hill led all scorers with 27 points, making eight of 19 shots from the floor and 11 of 14 free throws. The 6-foot-3 Hill also had three blocked shots.

Huffman added a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. She hit eight of 12 shots from the floor and nine of 12 from the stripe.

Cierra Jackson added nine points while leading the Nighthawks with 15 rebounds and five assists.

Lander made 28 of 73 shots from the floor (38 percent), 10 of 13 free throws (77 percent) and three of 12 from 3-point range (25 percent).

North Georgia hit 22 of 51 shots (43 percent), 26 of 35 free throws (74 percent) and two of 10 from behind the arc (20 percent).

West drove around the baseline for a layup to give the Lady Bearcats a 67-66 lead with 2:36 left. And after North Georgia was called for an offensive foul, Lander had a chance to increase its lead but turned the ball over.

Hill put the Nighthawks back on top 68-67 with 1:43 left and Huffman's two free throws pushed their lead to 70-67 with 1:03 to go.

Reynolds collected her 10th steal of the game at mid-court and made a driving layup to pull the Lady Bearcats within 70-69 with 26.6 seconds left.

North Georgia struggled to get up the floor against Lander's pressure and Huffman drew a foul with 11.2 seconds to go. She made the first free throw for a 71-69 lead but missed the second and Armstrong grabbed the defensive board.

West quickly drove inside for a layup attempt and missed with seven seconds left. Hill grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled and hit one of two free throws for a 72-69 lead. West's desperation 3-point attempt just inside mid-court hit the top of the backboard.

After North Georgia built a 10-4 advantage, the Lady Bearcats went on a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 13-12. Reynolds scored five of the nine points, including a 3-pointer and two free throws.

Armstrong converted a three-point play, giving Lander its final lead of the first half at 24-22 with 10:13 left.

Kaylee Akin's two free throws gave North Georgia a 33-27 lead with 4:49 to go. But West converted a three-point play and Reynolds scored inside to pull Lander within 33-32 at the 4:09 mark.

After Huffman's layup off Jackson's steal gave the Nighthawks a 40-35 lead with 1:15 left, the Lady Bearcats closed the half with a turnover flurry to pull within 40-39 at the break. Armstrong made a layup off a West steal with 21 seconds left, and Reynolds grabbed a back-court steal, leading to another Armstrong layup.

Lander opened the second half the same way it closed the first as Reynolds converted a pair of steals into a layup and two free throws, giving the Lady Bearcats a 43-40 lead.

Huffman made two free throws, Hill scored on a put-back, Huffman drove the length of the floor for a layup, Akin hit a 3, and Huffman added one of two free throws during a 10-2 run as North Georgia turned a 49-46 deficit into a 56-51 lead at the 11:30 mark.

Trailing 60-55, Sakezia Kelly converted a three-point play to pull Lander within 60-58, then the Lady Bearcats had three back-court steals (West, Kelly and Reynolds) in just a few seconds but failed to convert either into points.

After the flurry of turnovers, North Georgia settled down and Hill's three-point play put the visitors back up by five, 63-58, with 6:55 to go.

As the shot clock was expiring, Reynolds hit a long 3 to pull Lander within 63-61. After Huffman scored inside for the Nighthawks, the Lady Bearcats pulled into a 65-all tie with 4:25 left on baskets by McCray and Armstrong. Jackson's free throw gave North Georgia a 67-66 lead with 3:07 to go.