SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Lander women's basketball team went on a 15-2 run in the final 2:19 to earn a 77-69 road win over Armstrong State in a Peach Belt Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats trailed 52-49 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the Pirates 28-17 in the final period.

Lander improved to 13-6 overall, 7-3 in the Peach Belt Conference. With the win, the Bearcats worked themselves into a tie for first-place with Francis Marion and Augusta in the PBC East Division. The Pirates fell to 11-8, 3-7.

The win was Bearcat head coach Kevin Pederson's 200th victory at Lander. Pederson, who is in his 11th season at Lander, now owns a 200-122 overall record as head coach of the Bearcats. He is the winningest coach in Lander women's basketball history. 

Sannayyiah Johnson led all scorers with 23 points on six-of-12 shooting from the field. The junior guard connected on four-of-eight 3-point attempts, while adding three rebounds and two steals.

Bre Crum and Ashleigh Zandi each scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Breshay Johnson netted 12 points to go along with six rebounds and four steals.

Machala Raymonville led the Pirates with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Alexia Somerset scored 13 points and collected six rebounds, while Brigitta Barta chipped in 11 points. 

Lander made 25 of 66 shots from the floor (37.9 percent), nine of 22 from 3-point range (40.9 percent), and 18 of 23 from the free throw line (78.3 percent). Lander out-rebounded the Pirates 46-39.

Armstrong State hit 25 of 59 shots (42.4 percent), 16 of 24 from the line (66.7 percent) and just three of 18 from behind the arc (16.7 percent).

The Pirates opened the game with a 10-0 run and built a 20-12 lead at the end of the opening period. The Bearcats rallied to make the score 25-24 after Victoria Baldwin's three-pointer with 5:24 to go in the half, but Armstrong State answered with a 13-6 run to end the half and took a 38-30 lead into halftime. 

Lander trailed 42-32 less than two minutes into the third quarter, but an 11-2 Bearcat rally closed the deficit to 44-43 with 3:46 remaining in the period. Despite trimming the deficit to just one point on two occasions in the third quarter, Lander trailed by three entering the final ten minutes. 

The Bearcats took their first lead of the afternoon when a Ty'Hesha Reynolds layup put Lander ahead 59-57 with 5:52 to play. After a steal from Zandi, Sannayyiah Johnson's fourth three-pointer of the day gave the Bearcats a 62-57 lead with 5:48 to go. 

However, the Pirates answered with a 10-0 over the next 2:45, grabbing a 67-62 lead with 2:35 remaining in the game. 

A layup from Reynolds and a three from Zandi knotted the game at 67-67 with 1:56 to go. After a missed three-pointer from Armstrong State, Crum's jumper put the Bearcats ahead 69-67 with 1:23 to go. 

Lander then clinched the game at the free throw line, going 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final 1:01 of the game. The Bearcats held Armstrong State to just two points in the final 2:35, as the Pirates six of their final seven shots of the day.