GREENWOOD – The Lander Bearcats rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter to take a narrow lead but could not hang on, losing to Peach Belt Conference rival Augusta 56-51 Wednesday night at Horne Arena.
 
Lander fell to 7-15 overall, 4-9 in the Peach Belt.

The Jaguars swept the season series, improving to 14-9 overall and 7-6 in the PBC. They beat Lander 60-54 in Augusta on Jan. 11.
 
Jakiyah Parker led the Bearcats with 14 points, all in the first half. Tyasia Freeman added 13 points for Lander, Tanyia Gordon scored 11 points, and Kayla Sanders contributed eight points while leading the team with nine rebounds.
 
Autumn Phillips paced the Jaguars with 18 points, Tomiyah Alford scored 15 points, and Kennedi Manning contributed 12 points and nine boards. Manning had eight of Augusta's 14 offensive rebounds.
 
The Bearcats closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run, taking a 14-10 lead into the second period. Gordon made a spin move in the lane for a bucket, Parker swished a long 3-pointer from the top of the key, and then Parker collected a back-court steal and layup.
 
Parker twice broke ties for Lander in the second quarter. She made a turnaround jumper and followed with a 3-pointer from the right side, breaking a 14-all tie for a 19-14 lead. Tied again at 21, Parker hit a 3-pointer from the same spot on the floor for a 24-21 advantage with 1:30 left in the half.
 
The Bearcats led 24-23 at halftime. Parker had more than half of Lander's points with 14.
 
Alford scored three times, Mone Florence made a 3-pointer and Phillips collected a steal and layup as Augusta opened the second half with a 14-3 run, taking a 38-27 lead with 3:22 to go in the third.
 
The Bearcats closed the third quarter with a 6-2 run, all scored by Freeman including a three-point play as they trailed 40-33 going into the final period.
 
The momentum carried into the fourth quarter as Freeman opened with another layup, Gordon made a shot over two defenders, and Gordon made one of two free throws to cut Lander's deficit to 40-38.
 
Sanders scored in the paint to tie the game at 42-all with 6:14 left.
 
Gordon scored inside giving the Bearcats their first lead since the beginning of the second half at 44-42 with 5:11 to go.
 
Sanders made a layup putting the Blue and Gold back on top at 46-44 under the four-minute mark.
 
Kiera Howard put back her own miss to give the Jaguars the lead back at 48-46 with 2:38 left. Phillips followed with a 3-pointer as the Augusta lead grew to 51-46 at the two-minute mark.
 
Gordon drove around a defender for a layup after Quadaija Langley's steal to pull Lander within 51-48 with 1:01 to go. But Manning put back her own miss to extend the lead back to five with 37 seconds left.
 
The Bearcats had a couple opportunities to cut into the deficit but missed two free throws and a pair of 3-point attempts in the final 28 seconds.
 
After Augusta made three of four free throws, Langley made a long trey at the buzzer for the game's final points.

The Bearcats are back on the road on Saturday as they travel to face the North Georgia Nighthawks in Dahlonega, Ga. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 1:30 PM.