MORROW, Ga. - The Lander Women's Basketball Team had their highest scoring first quarter of the season, then found themselves down as much as eight with under five minutes to go but a 13-0 run would give the Bearcats the lead and they would not relinquish it as Quadaija Langley would hit two clutch sets of free throws to give Lander their first road win of the season and first Peach Belt Conference win of the Stephanie Gehlhausen era.

Quadaija Langley led all scorers with 18 points and finished one assist and three rebounds shy of a triple-double. Tanyia Gordon added 17 points and had four steals that helped the Bearcats in their late game-winning run. Jakiyah Parker rounded out the double-digit scorers as she finished with 13, including going 3-4 from beyond the arc.

The first few minutes of the game were a back-and-forth affair but with the score tied, Tanyia Gordon scored on back-to-back possessions 8-0 run that was book ended by a Parker three-pointer to give Lander an eight-point lead. The Lakers would cut the lead down to two but Gordon would once again start another run as she would spark a 7-0 run with back-to-back buckets to help Lander reclaim their eight-point lead as the first quarter came to an end. All in all, the Bearcats shot 77% from the field in the first ten minutes of action.

The second quarter was a much different story as Lander would shoot under 20% and saw their eight-point lead evaporate fairly quickly. Tanyia Gordon would hit a jumper with just under seven minutes left which would be the last basket that Lander would make from the run of play as Lander would only make three free throws the rest of the quarter. Clayton State would take advantage of this Bearcat cold spell and turn an eight-point deficit into a three-point lead as the teams headed to the locker room. 

Lander would come out of the locker room on fire defensively as they would hold the Lakers to only 12.5% shooting from the field during the quarter. Offensively, the Bearcats would open the quarter on a 15-4 run with buckets from Tyasia Freeman, Tanyia Gordon, Quadaija Langley, and Anne Secrest to open up a seven-point lead at 47-40. Clayton State would close the quarter with three free throws to close the lead to 47-43 as we headed to the last quarter of action.

The fourth quarter was an overall encapsulation of the game as Clayton State would open with a 14-2 run to completely flip the script and open an eight-point lead of their own at 57-49. Just as it seemed another game would be slipping away from them, Tanyia Gordon would hit a jumper and Anne Secrest would hit back-to-back threes to tie the game at 57. Jakyiah Parker would hit a three of her own and the Bearcats suddenly found themselves with a three-point lead. A Gordon jumper would make it a five-point game but the Lakers would respond with a three-pointer to cut the lead back to two. However, on the ensuing possession, Quadaija Langley would draw an intentional foul that gave her two free throws, which she made, and more crucially the ball. Langley would be fouled again where she would sink two more free throws and the lead was back to two possessions at 66-60. Clayton State would hit a three to make it 66-63 and Langley would miss her first two free throws of the game to give Clayton State hope but coming out of a timeout, the Lander defense would force a five-second call to give the Blue and Gold the ball. Anne Secrest would hit one of two free throws to make 67-63 and the Bearcat defense would hold strong to close out the win.

The Bearcats are back at home on Monday as they play the return leg of their season series against Clayton State inside Horne Arena. The tip-off for the game is slated for 1:30 PM.

Keep up to date with your Bearcats and never miss a moment of the action! Follow Lander athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for continued updates! #cLawsUp