Fayetteville St. FSU 4-1,0-0 CIAA

Lander Lander 4-2,0-0 Peach Belt

Fayetteville St. FSU

4-1,0-0 CIAA

Final

Nov. 25, 2023

Lander Lander

4-2,0-0 Peach Belt

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Fayetteville St. FSU	9	10	19	18	56
Lander Lander	14	14	14	16	58

Summary
Box Score

Thomas Holland - Lander Athletics

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 11/25/2023 3:38:00 PM

Johnson-Kelly's Miraculous Buzzer Beater Gives Lander Win over Broncos

GREENWOOD – Tanyia Gordon (Plant City, Fla.) and WyKira Johnson-Kelly (Franklinville, N.J.) were not going to let the Lander Bearcats lose Saturday.

Gordon scored two important baskets down the stretch, Johnson-Kelly gave Lander the lead with one minute to go, and together they provided the miraculous finish at the end.

Johnson-Kelly hit the game-winner at the buzzer on a catch-and-shoot all in one motion shot with under one second left, giving the Bearcats a 58-56 victory over Fayetteville State at Horne Arena.

After the Broncos built a late four-point lead, Gordon hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bearcats within 53-52 with 1:45 left. Johnson-Kelly's driving layup gave Lander a 54-53 advantage with 1:02 to go.

The Bearcats were holding on to that lead until the final seconds when Gordon intercepted a Broncos inbounds pass and took it in for a layup and a 56-53 lead with six seconds left.

But Aniylah Bryant made a 3-pointer from the left corner to tie at 56-all with seven-tenths of a second left. The game was almost certainly headed to overtime.

But after a timeout, Gordon, from near the Lander bench, threw a pass toward Johnson-Kelly in the lane. Johnson-Kelly reached high to catch the ball and in one motion shot it toward the basket, banking in the game-winner as she fell to the floor a couple feet in front of the free-throw line as time expired.

Gordon paced Lander with 15 points and four steals. Alicia Burgos (Milwaukee, Wisc.) scored 12 points for the Bearcats while Johnson-Kelly paced them with nine rebounds.

Bryant led Fayetteville State with 16 points while teammate Amina Miles pulled down nine boards.

Trailing 7-2, the Bearcats went on a 12-0 run to take a first-quarter lead. Burgos made two free throws, Amani Melendez (Woodbridge, Va.) hit a game-tying 3-pointer for their first field goal of the game at the 4:35 mark, Gordon and Ashley Tucker (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored inside, and Quadaija Langley (Travelers Rest, S.C.) made a trey for a 14-7 advantage. Lander led 14-9 going into the second period.

Burgos scored three baskets in the paint, increasing the Bearcat lead to 20-9 with 7:19 left in the half. Gordon converted a three-point play and added a put-back, upping Lander's lead to 25-11.

Johnson-Kelly's three-point play gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the first half at 28-11. It ended a 26-4 run during which Lander made 10 of 21 shots while the Broncos hit just two of 16.

Tanjaneeka Eichelberger and Bryant hit 3-pointers as Fayetteville State scored the final eight points of the half to trail 28-19 at the break.

The Bearcats missed their first six shots of the second half before Abby Carter (Geneva, Ohio) jumper increased their lead to 31-26 with 5:05 left in the third.

After the Broncos pulled within a possession for the second time in the third period, Melendez made a 3-pointer giving Lander a 36-30 lead with 3:32 to go.

Cory Santoro (Bellevue, Ohio) hit a trey and Carter scored again as the Bearcats took a 42-38 lead going into the final quarter.

Fayetteville State's Keayna McLaughlin tied the game at 42-all with a layup with 8:32 left. Bryant scored on a breakaway layup to give the Broncos their first lead since the opening quarter at 44-42.

Gordon's 3-pointer put Lander back in front 47-46 with 6:15 to go.

Fayetteville State responded by building a four-point lead, setting up the wild finish.

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