GREENWOOD – No. 15-ranked North Georgia used a 27-11 run in the second half to turn back Lander's upset bid 76-66 Saturday afternoon in Peach Belt Conference action at Horne Arena.
The Bearcats fell to 3-9 overall, 0-3 in the Peach Belt. The Nighthawks are 11-2, 3-1.
Quadaija Langley paced Lander with 17 points, Jakiyah Parker scored 14 points, and Tanyia Gordon added 11 points and six rebounds. Tyasia Freeman shared team-high rebounding honors with six boards and also blocked two shots for the Bearcats.
North Georgia's Caroline Martin led all scorers with 25 points, Kayla Massop had a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Josie Earnhardt scored 14 points, and Carly Fahey led the visitors with seven assists.
Niyah Lutz scored nine points, all in the fourth quarter for the Nighthawks who broke a 47-all tie with a 27-11 run.
There were four ties and five lead changes in the first period which ended with Lander on top 23-19 on 53 percent (10 of 19) shooting.
Cory Santoro opened the Bearcat scoring with a 3-pointer, Gordon scored three times in the paint, Parker converted a three-point play with a driving layup high off the glass, and Anne Secrest hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the quarter buzzer sounded.
Langley made a deep 3-pointer to break a 23-all tie, Santoro hit from behind the arc in the right corner to increase Lander's lead, and Parker made a trey from the top of the key giving the Blue and Gold a 37-32 advantage with four minutes left in the half.
Santoro's floater from the left side of the lane with 3:17 to go would be the last Bearcat points of the half. Lander led 39-37 at the break on 52 percent accuracy (16 of 31), including 50 percent (5 of 10) from behind the arc.
Martin's 3-pointer from the left wing gave North Georgia its first lead since the opening quarter at 44-43 with 6:48 to go in the third. The Bearcats regained the lead when Secrest found Gordon open underneath the basket and then Gordon tied it at 47-all with 5:13 left when she put back her own miss.
The Nighthawks scored the last six points of the third quarter to lead 53-47 going into the final period.
Lutz hit a 3-pointer giving North Georgia a 56-49 advantage with 8:22 left, the largest lead for either team in the game to that point. Earnhardt followed with a 3-pointer for a double-digit advantage at 59-49.
Langley hit a trey from the left wing and Parker did the same from the right corner as Lander rallied within 61-56 with 5:33 to go.
But Lutz hit a tough shot in the paint as the shot clock was expiring, scored again on an up-and-under reverse layup, and added a steal and layup giving the Nighthawks a 67-56 lead inside four minutes left.
The lead grew to 16 on Martin's 3-pointer making it 74-58 with 1:11 to go. Langley and Parker made late 3-pointer for the Bearcats.
