MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Quadaija Langley hit a free throw to put the Lander Women's Basketball team up three with under ten seconds to go but the Wingate Bulldogs, ranked #17 in the latest D2SIDA poll and received votes in the latest WBCA Coaches Poll, would hit a three pointer at the buzzer to send the game to an extra five minutes where Wingate would outscore the Bearcats by a 18-13 scoreline to give Lander the 79-74 loss.
Jakiyah Parker led the team with 22 points, Tanyia Gordon scored 17, Cory Santoro scored 11, while Kayla Sanders became the first Bearcat to record a double-double this season with ten points and ten rebounds.Â
The Bearcats would come out on fire to start the game on both sides of the floor as they would shoot 57% from behind the arc while holding a Wingate offense that averages shooting 45% from the field less than 30% in the first ten minutes of action.Â
The Bulldogs would get the first points from the free throw line but the Bearcats would respond with a 7-0 run with a
Cory Santoro three-pointer sandwiched between layups from
Kayla Sanders and
Tanyia Gordon to give Lander a 7-2 lead. Wingate never had consecutive field goals during the quarter as Lander took a 19-9 lead after the first ten minutes of action.
The Bulldogs would open the second quarter on a 12-4 run to cut the Bearcat lead down to six but a layup from Sanders and a three pointer from Parker would get the lead back out to 11 but the Bulldogs would respond with a 6-2 run to close the half. However, Lander would still hold a seven point lead at 34-27 as the teams headed to the locker room.
Parker would restore the double digit lead coming out of the break with a three-pointer but from there Wingate would go on a 9-3 run to cut the lead down to four. The Bearcats would continue to be resilient and not let the Bulldogs close the gap further as layups from Gordon and Parker would help the Bearcats hold a seven point lead as we headed to the last ten minutes of action.
Wingate would land their biggest blow to open the last frame of regulation as they would open on a 14-0 run to give them their first lead since those two free throws that opened the scoring of the game and give the Bulldogs a seven point lead of their own forcing a timeout from coach Stephanie Gehlhausen. After the timeout, Lander would cut the lead down to two off a jumper from Tanyia Gordon and a three-pointer from Jakiyah Parker. Wingate would get the lead back to six but baskets from Gordon, Parker, and Santoro would lead a 9-0 run to give Lander a three point lead with one minute to play. Wingate would cut the lead to two with a free throw but would foul Quadaija Langley on the next possession. Langley would hit one of two at the line to restore the three point lead but the Bulldogs would hit a shot at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Wingate would open the extra frame on an 8-2 run to give them a six point lead but a layup and a pair free throws from Langley would cut the lead down to three. Unfortunately that would be as close as Lander would get as Wingate would get four quick points to open the lead back up to seven and from there the teams would exchange buckets before a three-point play from Santoro would cut the lead to four and give Lander a chance with just over a minute left. However, Wingate would hit their free throws down the stretch and a Kayla Sanders layup would close out the scoring.
The Bearcats will now break for the Christmas holiday before returning back home on New Year's Eve at 1:30 PM as they welcome the Newberry Wolves to Horne Arena. This will be the last non-conference game for the Bearcats and the first game of a three-game homestand that will see them also face PBC foes USC Aiken and North Georgia.
