W. Basketball

11/15/2009

Lady Bearcats defeat No. 27 Valdosta State in opener

Mukia Myrick

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Mukia Myrick led four Lander women's basketball players in double figures Sunday afternoon as the Lady Bearcats downed No. 27 Valdosta State, 71-54, in the non-conference season opener for both teams.

Myrick netted a game-high 15 points and had six assists, while Shannon McKever posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ciara Lyons and Jasmine Judge added 12 points each.

Valdosta State was paced by Leschelle Matthews' 13 points, while Sczeny Hartry added 12 and Michelle Thompson 11. Sierra Nixon and Brittany Daniels led the Lady Blazers in rebounds with seven and six respectively.

The Lady Bearcats posted their first double-digit lead at 41-31 with 15:05 left in the game on a pair of Brittni Johnson free throws. Lander went on an 11-4 run and took a 52-35 advantage with 10:26 left on Lyons' three-point play.

Valdosta State trimmed the margin to 14 points -- 56-42 -- at 6:59, but that is as close as the Lady Blazers would get. Lander responded with another 11-4 run to take it's largest lead of the game at 21 points -- 67-46 -- with 3:49 remaining.

Lander, which led 28-24 at halftime, connected on 45 percent from the field (27-of-60), including 31.8 percent from the three-point line (7-of-22). Lander also made 10-of-17 free throws for 58.8 percent.

Valdosta State was 16-of-51 from the field for 31.4 percent, including 2-of-11 from the three-point line for 18.2 percent. The Blazers also made 20-of-27 free throws for 74.1 percent.

The Lady Bearcats outrebounded Valdosta State, 42-32.

It will be nearly two weeks before Lander takes the court again when they travel to Salisbury, N.C. for the Catawba Classic on Nov. 27-28.

Related Item: Box Score