Box Score COLUMBUS, Ohio – The greatest season in Lander women's basketball history came to an end Wednesday night as the No. 2-seeded Bearcats saw their dramatic comeback fall short to No. 3-seeded Drury 74-65 in the NCAA Division II national semifinals at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Lander's season ended one victory shy of Friday night's national championship game. The Bearcats finished 20-2.
The Panthers improved to 24-1 and face Lubbock Christian (22-0) for the championship.
Lander trailed by 11 with 3:26 left and cut its deficit to two in less than two minutes with a frantic 11-2 run.
Zamiya Passmore scored nine consecutive Bearcat points and Miriam Recarte capped the run with a turnaround jumper with 1:38 left, pulling Lander within 67-65.
But the Bearcats missed their final six shots while Drury made seven free throws in the final 43 seconds.
Cold shooting cost the Bearcats as they hit only 11 of 40 shots from the start of the second quarter until the rally late in the fourth, missing several attempts close to the basket.
Passmore paced Lander with 27 points and seven assists. The sophomore All-American guard scored 11 points in the final quarter.
Recarte added 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bearcats.
Makaila Cange failed to record a double-double for only the sixth time in 22 games this season, scoring seven points while leading Lander with 13 rebounds.
The entire Bearcats squad is likely to return next season, including sophomore All-Americans Passmore and Cange. Amiaya Melvins will reportedly take advantage of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA is offering seniors due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Division II Player of the Year Paige Robinson led Drury with 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the floor, scoring 20 points in the second half including 13 in the pivotal third quarter.
Azia Lynch added a double-double with 22 points and 16 boards for the Panthers.
After each team started the game with two scoreless possessions, Passmore got the Bearcats started with a driving layup for a 2-0 lead at the 8:13 mark. She would add a free throw and a pass to Melvins for a layup and a 5-2 advantage.
Recarte's hook shot and Passmore's underhand scoop layup pushed Lander's lead to 11-6. Meanwhile, the Bearcats defense was doing its job as Melvins and
Sarah Crews each drew offensive fouls.
After the TV timeout, Recarte, who was 1 for 13 from the floor in Tuesday's quarterfinal game, buried her second shot already inside the five-minute mark when she hit a 3 from the top of the key, making it 14-6.
Drury used a modest 6-2 run to pull within 16-12. But Passmore kicked a pass out to an open
Quin'De'Ja Hamilton in the left corner for a 3 and Crews added a floater off a back-door cut, helping Lander take a 21-16 advantage going into the second quarter.
That was the good news. The bad news was Cange and Melvins each had two fouls and sat the entire second period.
Recarte's second trey from the top of the key extended the Blue and Gold's advantage to 24-16 with 8:51 left in the half.
Kelsey Winfrey's back-court steal and layup pulled the Panthers within 26-22 at the six-minute mark.
Both teams missed several makeable shots before Passmore got going again with both her scoring and play-making. Passmore made a 3 from the right side and hit
Tyasia Freeman in stride for a transition layup, extending the Bearcat advantage to 31-22 with 3:25 to go. But Lander would score only a free throw the rest of the half, missing its final four shots from the floor.
Allie Clevenger's 3 with 52 seconds left capped a 9-1 run as Drury pulled within 32-31 at halftime.
The Panthers took their first lead since it was 6-5 on Robinson's 3 from the left side, making it 34-33 with 8:48 to go in the third.
Robinson and Passmore traded a pair of baskets apiece as Drury led 40-39 at the media timeout with 4:36 left.
The Panthers extended their lead to 49-39 with 2:39 to go on Robinson's driving layup, Katie Kirkhart's short jumper, a 3 by Payton Richards, and another Robinson bucket.
Cange was held scoreless until the 2:13 mark when she hit a pair of free throws, ending a 9-0 Drury run.
But Lynch's three-point play upped the Panthers advantage to 52-41 with two minutes left.
Hamilton's 3 from the right side was Lander's first field goal in almost three minutes, cutting its deficit to 52-44.
The Bearcats made three of four free throws in the final minute and trailed 54-47 going into the fourth.
Lynch made a shot in the lane and after an immediate Lander turnover, Lynch got fouled on an offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws to make it 58-47 near the eight-minute mark.
Passmore had a driving layup and Recarte hit a baseline jumper, but the Blue and Gold still trailed by 10 inside six minutes to go.
Passmore drew a charge against Robinson with 5:30 left and the Bearcats took advantage. Cange made her first field goal of the game, was fouled, and completed the three-point play cutting the deficit to 61-54 with 5:20 to go.
But Lynch answered with a layup at the other end as Drury went back up by nine at the media timeout with 4:51 left.
Kirkhart's layup increased the seemingly safe Panther lead to 65-54 with 3:26 remaining. But Passmore hit a 3 from the top of the key to start the comeback, Melvins dove to the floor to secure a steal, and Passmore turned a baseline driving basket into a three-point play as the Bearcats quickly pulled within 65-60 with 2:38 to go.
Passmore answered a Drury layup with an acrobatic shot off the glass as Lander trailed 67-62 with 2:17 left.
The comeback continued as Crews collected her fourth steal of the game, Passmore was fouled and hit one of two free throws cutting the deficit to 67-63 with 1:50 remaining.
Lynch had an opportunity to pad the Panther lead but missed both free throws. Recarte answered by swishing a turnaround mid-range jumper and the deficit was down to 67-65 with 1:38 to go.
Drury tried to milk the clock but Lynch was called for traveling in the lane at the 1:15 mark as the Panthers struggled to protect their lead. Lander was not able to take advantage this time, however, as Hamilton's game-tying shot attempt with 1:01 left hit the right side of the backboard.
The Panthers ran clock again, Robinson was fouled and missed the first free throw but made the second as they led 68-65 with 43.8 seconds remaining.
Recarte attempted a game-tying three from the right side but it rolled around the outside of the rim and dropped into Kirkhart's arms. Robinson was immediately fouled and added two free throws, making it 70-65 with 37.5 seconds to go.
Down five, Passmore drove straight to the rim but missed a layup with 31 seconds left, and then the Panthers closed out the victory with four free throws.
