GREENWOOD – The No. 2-ranked Lander women's basketball team clinched its second consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular season crown and completed the first unbeaten regular season in program history on Wednesday night, topping UNC Pembroke 76-66. 

Lander ends the regular season with an unblemished 16-0 record and a perfect 14-0 mark in PBC play. The Bearcats became the first team to go unbeaten in PBC play in nine years and the first Lander team to ever do so. 

Zamiya Passmore, the PBC's leader in points and assists per game, netted 31 points and dished out six assists while adding five steals. Makaila Cange boosted her league-best rebounding average by pulling down 15 rebounds to go along with 13 points. Miriam Recarte scored 13 points and blocked five shots, while Jakiyah Parker added 10 points. 

Lander never trailed after the opening minutes of the first quarter, but found themselves tied with 4:25 to play in the third quarter after a 9-0 UNCP run. The Bearcats responded with back-to-back buckets from Recarte and used a Passmore jumper in the waning seconds of the period to take a 55-50 lead into the fourth quarter. 

The Bearcats converted six of their first seven shots from the field in the final stanza and a layup from Passmore gave Lander its largest lead of the night at 72-56 with 4:29 to play. The Braves would not draw closer than eight point the rest of the way as Lander put the finishing touches on the best regular season in program history. 

Lander shot 48.3 percent from the floor in the win and owned a 46-34 advantage on points in the paint. 

The Bearcats will enter the PBC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and host a semifinal game in Finis Horne Arena on Mar. 3.

#cLawsUp | @LanderWBB