DAHLONEGA, Ga. - The second-seeded Lander Bearcats were outscored 25-10 in the fourth quarter and were upset by sixth-seeded Clayton State 71-64 in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon at the University of North Georgia's Convocation Center.
No. 6 nationally-ranked Lander fell to 22-4 and awaits an at-large invitation to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament which starts late next week. The bids will be announced Sunday night.
The Lakers improved to 16-12 and face top seed North Georgia for the PBC Tournament championship Sunday afternoon.
The Bearcats saw their 12-game winning streak against Clayton State come to an end.
Lander led 54-46 going into the fourth quarter but had a very uncharacteristic final period, committing 10 turnovers while shooting 2-for-10 from the floor and 6-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Makaila Cange paced Lander with her 16th double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 22 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. The PBC Co-Player of the Year made 10 of 18 shots from the floor.
Miriam Recarte also recorded a double-double for the Bearcats with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while blocking two shots.
Aniaya Jester added 15 points and five assists for Lander.
Amiaya Melvins contributed 10 rebounds for the Bearcats while
Sarah Crews led the team with seven assists.
Audrey McElhaney had a double-double for Clayton State with 16 points and 10 boards. Timi'a Swanson added 11 points.
Jester figured heavily in a 7-0 run that rallied Lander from a 6-3 deficit into a 10-6 lead. Jester was underneath the basket when she found Cange with a short bounce pass for a layup, then Jester hit a short jumper in the paint in transition and added a mid-range jumper.
The Bearcats trailed again, 15-12, before scoring the final five points of the opening quarter for a 17-15 advantage. Crews swished a game-tying 3-pointer from the top of the key and then
Vashae Rideout rebounded a teammate's missed trey attempt and laid it in for the lead.
The Blue and Gold trailed again 20-17 early in the second period after the game's eighth lead change. But Rideout made a shot off the glass while Cange scored twice in the paint as Lander moved back ahead 23-20.
Cange scored twice more inside while Recarte made three short jumpers as Lander extended its advantage to 35-27 at the one-minute mark. The Bearcats led 36-29 at halftime.
Lander grabbed its first double-digit lead with 7:52 left in the third quarter when Cange took a lob pass from Crews and laid it in, making it 42-31. Rideout's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Bearcats a 45-35 advantage at 6:18.
Another Recarte mid-range jumper gave Lander a 50-40 lead with 2:40 left in the third.
Hannah Wright's 3-pointer pulled Clayton State within 52-46 with 1:10 to go. After another Cange layup, the Bearcats took a 54-46 lead going into the final quarter.
McElhaney and Jada Moss scored on consecutive Lander turnovers, cutting the Laker deficit to 57-53 with 6:01 to go. Devyne Turner made one of two free throws as Clayton State made it a one-possession game at 57-54 with 5:45 left.
After Lander missed a pair of free throws, Swanson made a layup in transition as the Lakers were within 57-56 with 5:39 left.
The Bearcats committed three more turnovers and Clayton State failed to take advantage of the first two. But the Lakers took the lead after the third takeaway when Swift's layup made it 58-57 at the four-minute mark, completing a 10-0 run.
Melvins made a pair of free throws to put Lander back on top. But Jadah White hit a 3-pointer as Clayton State regained the lead at 61-59 with 3:10 to go and it would not trail again.
White and McElhaney added baskets, giving the Lakers a 65-59 lead with 1:47 left.
After Cange made one of two free throws pulling the Bearcats within 65-60, Clayton State ran almost an entire minute off the clock by missing a shot, grabbing an offensive rebound to re-set the shot clock, and running down the shot clock again before missing another shot. Jester was fouled a couple dribbles after her defensive rebound and made one of two free throws, cutting the deficit to 65-62 with 37 seconds left.
Swanson's two free throws gave the Lakers a 67-62 lead with 34 seconds left. Cange grabbed an offensive rebound, had her shot blocked, got another offensive board and laid it in, cutting Lander's deficit to 67-64 with 20 seconds to go.
But McElhaney and Diamond Swift made five of six free throws to clinch the win.
