GREENWOOD – Limestone used a 28-8 run in the second half to pull away from the Lander Bearcats 71-55 Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander fell to 2-5 on the season. The Saints improved to 5-5.
Anne Secrest paced the Bearcats with 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Cory Santoro scored 11 points for Lander while
Tanyia Gordon also scored 11 points while adding three steals.
Quadaija Langley was held to six points and three assists for the Blue and Gold.
Reagan McCray paced Limestone with 16 points, Quin Byrd scored 14 points, Reagan Kargo contributed 11 points and seven assists, and Kalisha Hill scored nine points while leading all rebounders with 14. Amara Newsome added 10 points, all in the second half for the visitors.
The Saints had a 44-30 edge on the boards. Lander shot 32 percent from the floor (17 for 53) including 26 percent from behind the arc (6 for 23).
The Bearcats had a pair of 7-0 runs in the first quarter but their lead was only 16-14 going into the second period. Gordon scored five points,
Tyasia Freeman four points and
Jakiyah Parker added a 3-pointer for Lander.
Limestone used a 10-0 run, rallying from a 16-9 deficit late in the first quarter to a 19-16 lead in the second. Santoro's 3-pointer ended a scoreless run of nearly seven minutes, pulling the Bearcats into a 19-all tie with 6:08 left in the half.
Santoro added five more points in the second period for the Blue and Gold while Secrest scored four. But the Saints led 31-28 at halftime behind McCray's 10 points.
Secrest hit a 3-pointer early in the second half and added a put-back, pulling Lander within 35-33 with 8:46 left in the third. But the Bearcats didn't score another basket from the floor until the 2:08 mark when Freeman made a layup.
Limestone led 49-38 going into the final quarter.
Newsome's two free throws gave the Saints a 63-41 advantage with 4:18 left as the visitors opened the fourth period with a 14-3 run. The overall run since the Blue and Gold had pulled within 35-33 was 28-8.
Gordon made a fade-away jumper and then collected a steal, was fouled and made both free throws cutting the Bearcat deficit to 63-45.
Secrest's 3-pointer from the top of the key sliced Lander's 22-point deficit in half, cutting the score to 63-52 with 1:28 left to cap an 11-0 run.
