GREENWOOD –
Tanyia Gordon scored 17 points and made key plays down the stretch,
Quadaija Langley made the go-ahead basket for the second straight game, and the Lander Bearcats upset No. 8 ranked Georgia Southwestern 64-61 in Peach Belt Conference action Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 7-10 overall and 4-4 in the Peach Belt with its fourth consecutive victory.
The Hurricanes suffered their first PBC loss, falling to 15-2, 7-1. The Canes had their 12-game winning streak snapped.
The Bearcats led by 12 in the first half (24-12) and would trail by 12 in the third quarter (56-44) before outscoring Georgia Southwestern 20-5 the rest of the way, including 18-5 in the fourth quarter.
Gordon came through with a key offensive rebound and basket late in the game and would add two crucial free throws with 24 seconds to go.
Langley scored the go-ahead bucket with 2:16 remaining, putting the Bearcats up 62-61. She hit the winning basket with 44 seconds left to beat Columbus State on Wednesday night.
Langley finished with 13 points while leading Lander with nine assists.
Jakiyah Parker had a big first-half and finished with 11 points.
Kayla Sanders paced the Bearcats with 15 rebounds, all on the defensive end.
Jolicia Williams led the Hurricanes with 23 points, Lex Chatman scored 12 points, and Ava Jones added 10 points and four assists.
The Bearcats got off to a tremendous start. After giving up an early basket, Lander scored the game's next 13 points.
Cory Santoro banked a 3-pointer off the glass from the right wing, Gordon swished a mid-range jumper, Parker made a 3-pointer from the right side,
Tyasia Freeman hit a driving layup, and Santoro drained a catch-and-shoot trey making it 13-2 with 4:27 left in the opening quarter.
Georgia Southwestern scored seven consecutive points. But Langley ended the run with a trey as the Bearcats led 16-9 going into the second period.
Parker nailed a 3-pointer from the right side, Freeman hauled in a long pass from Langley and made a layup, and Santoro hit another catch-and-shoot 3 from the right side as the Bearcats were up 24-12 with seven minutes left in the half. Lander was 6-for-10 from behind the arc at that point.
Chatman's three-point play cut the Hurricane deficit to 24-20 with 4:22 to go. Langley's free throws gave the Blue and Gold a 31-22 lead with 1:18 left. But Chatman's 3-pointer at the buzzer pulled Georgia Southwestern within 31-29 at the break.
Parker hit an open 3-pointer from the left wing in the first minute of the second half to push the Bearcat lead to 34-29.
But Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-0 Georgia Southwestern run that put the visitors ahead 41-34.
Parker beat the shot clock with a floater off the glass to end the Hurricane run. But the visitors would extend their lead to 12 when Chatman hit a 3-pointer, their ninth made shot out of 10 attempts, to make it 56-44.
Georgia Southwestern made 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter and led 56-46 going into the fourth.
Anne Secrest scored six points early in the final period, making a 3-pointer and converting a three-point play. Then Gordon made a jumper from the free-throw line as Lander was within 59-55 with 6:45 to go.
Langley's 3-pointer from the right corner cut the Bearcat deficit to 61-58 at the five-minute mark.
Gordon reached high above her head for an offensive rebound and then later in that possession made a turnaround jumper, pulling Lander within 61-60 with just over three minutes remaining.
Then Gordon collected a steal, leading to Langley swishing a long jumper as the shot clock was expiring, giving the Bearcats a 62-61 advantage with 2:16 left. They would not trail again.
Georgia Southwestern missed three 3-pointers in its next two possessions and then committed a five-second violation as Lander maintained its lead into the final seconds.
The Bearcats ran the shot clock down and Gordon was fouled with 21 seconds left. She made both free throws as the Blue and Gold's lead was now 64-61.
Destiny Garrett missed a 3-point attempt from the left corner, the Hurricanes got the offensive rebound and Jones had a 3-point try from the top of the key rim out with seven seconds to go. Lander drew a foul with four seconds left and missed two free throws, but Georgia Southwestern was not able to get a shot off.
After a three-game homestand that saw them go 3-0, the Lander Women's Basketball team hits the road on Wednesday to face Georgia College at 5:30 PM. The Bearcats return home next Saturday as they welcome the Flagler Saints to Horne Arena for a 1:30 PM tip-off.
