ANDERSON, S.C. - Tanyia Gordon took a pass at the top of the key and sunk a shot with 11 seconds left on the clock to give Lander a 57-55 lead and the Bearcats would hold on from their as they finished their weekend at the AU Classic 2-0 with a 58-56 win over the Young Harris Mountian Lions on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
The Bearcats improved to 2-2 on the season while Young Harris dropped to 1-3 on the young season.
WyKira Johnson-Kelly led the Bearcats with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. JaMari Fredrick also had 17 points to lead the Mountain Lions.
After shooting 50% from the field against Emmanuel the night before, it seemed the hot shooting would continue as the Bearcats shot nearly 54% from the field in the first quarter. However, Young Harris would shoot 61% from the field in the first ten minutes resulting in a 36-point quarter combined from both teams.
Lander opened the game on a 6-2 run with buckets from Gordon, Cory Santoro, and Alicia Burgos. Unfortunately, this would be the biggest lead Lander held as an 8-0 run from Young Harris would give them a 10-6 lead.Â
Amani Melendez continued her hot shooting from beyond the arc to cut the lead down to one at 10-9 but the Mountain Lions continued to have an answer each time and would eventually take a 19-17 lead into the second quarter.
After the 36-point first quarter, the teams combined for 15 points in the second quarter but it didn't seem that way early as Johnson-Kelly hit a three and Quadaija Langley hit a jumper to give Lander a three-point lead at 22-19.
Once again, Young Harris responded as they held Lander without a field goal for the rest of the quarter to retake the lead and head into halftime up five, 28-23.
The offense returned in a big way in the third as Johnson-Kelly opened the quarter with a 5-0 run by herself to tie the game at 28 but after the teams exchanged baskets to get the game tied at 30, the Mountain Lions went on an 13-2 run to take a 11-point lead, 43-32.Â
Lander would not go quietly as they hit three three-pointers in a 9-2 run from Langley, Santoro, and Melendez to cut the deficit back down to four at 45-41. Young Harris would briefly get their lead back up to five before an Abby Carter three at the horn cut it back down to one possession going into the last quarter.
Cory Santoro would tie the game to open the fourth quarter but Young Harris would respond shortly after to make it 49-47. That scoreline would stay the same for almost four minutes of game before a pair of Langley free throws would tie the game at 49.
The teams would keep exchanging two-pointers until the game was tied at 55 a piece where a defensive stop led to a Ashley Tucker rebound which started the play that would eventually lead to the Tanyia Gordon bucket to give the Bearcats a 57-55 lead.Â
However, it seemed that Young Harris would have a shot to tie the game as they drew a shooting foul with three seconds left but would only make one of the two shots.Â
After multiple Young Harris fouls to get into the bonus, Johnson-Kelly would try to make it a three point game but could only make one of two as well but the Lander defense would not allow a clean shot on the ensuing Mountain Lion possession to secure the victory.
The Bearcats open their home slate this coming Wednesday as they welcome the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks out of the Gulf South Conference. That game is scheduled for a 3:30 PM tip-off.
