Johnson scores 1,000th point in win over Augusta
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta St. (11-14, 6-11 PBC) | 24 | 44 | 68 |
| Lander (20-5, 15-2 PBC) | 29 | 46 | 75 |
| Horne Arena, Greenwood, S.C. | |||
| Augusta St. | Lander |
|---|---|
| Pts: Brittany White - 15 | Pts: Brittni Johnson - 23 |
| Reb: Brittany White - 8 | Reb: Precious Elkins - 9 |
| Ast: Brittany White - 11 | Ast: Mukia Myrick - 4 |
| Team Statistics | Augusta St. | Lander |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 50.0% (23-46 ) | 42.6% (26-61 ) |
| Rebounds | 37 | 30 |
| Assists | 22 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 35 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 34 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 7 |
| Bench Pts | 20 | 32 |
GREENWOOD – Lander's Brittni Johnson scored 23 points including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:56 left, passed the 1,000-point career mark and helped the No. 19 Lady Bearcats survive Augusta State's upset bid 75-68 Wednesday night on "Think Pink" Awareness Day at Horne Arena.
Lander improved to 20-5 overall and 15-2 in the Peach Belt Conference.
The Lady Jaguars, who led much of the second half, fell to 11-14 overall and 6-11 in the PBC.
The Lady Bearcats, wearing pink jerseys, nailed down their eighth consecutive victory over Augusta.
Johnson needed 15 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau and arrived at that number just under the eight-minute mark. The senior guard made nine of 15 shots from the floor and now has 1,008 career points. Seventeen of her 23 points came after halftime.
Ciara Lyons added 14 points and eight steals for Lander, Kami Phillips scored 13 points, and Precious Elkins added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. Jasmine Judge had five steals as the Lady Bearcats totaled 22 steals while forcing 35 Augusta turnovers.
Lander's Mukia Myrick scored six points, leaving her 15 points shy of 1,000 career points.
Johnson, Myrick, Lyons, Judge, Phillips, Keondra Barnes, Kaylyn Small and Rachelle Rasley will celebrate Senior Day Saturday afternoon when the Lady Bearcats host UNC Pembroke.
Brittany White led the Jaguars with 15 points, including 10 of 10 free throws, and also had a game-high 11 assists while also leading her team with eight rebounds.
Tiffany Jaecks scored 12 points for Augusta, Laci Schreiber added 11 points including three three-point plays in the second half, and Marina Fox scored 10 points. Amber Peterson contributed nine points and three steals.
Lander made 26 of 61 shots from the floor (43 percent), 17 of 24 free throws (71 percent), and six of 19 from 3-point range (32 percent).
Augusta made 23 of 46 shots (50 percent), 19 of 25 from the stripe (76 percent), and three of eight from behind the arc (38 percent).
The Jaguars had a 37-30 edge on the boards.
Lander trailed 56-54 with under five minutes left when Johnson and Myrick hit back-to-back 3s, giving the hosts the lead for good at 60-56 with 4:35 left. Lyons added a free throw, extending the Lady Bearcat lead to five.
After Jaecks scored in the paint to pull Augusta within 61-58, Lyons made a reverse layup pushing Lander's lead back to five at the 3:40 mark.
White's two free throws closed the Jaguars within a possession before the hosts took their biggest lead of the second half at 66-60 when Lyons made one of two free throws, and Elkins hit two of two with 2:20 left.
After White made two free throws for Augusta, the Lady Bearcats got a huge play when Johnson, off a Jaguars air ball, threw a long pass to Elkins who converted it into a three-point play for a 69-62 lead with 1:34 to go.
Schreiber's three-point play closed Augusta within 71-65 with 36 seconds left. But Phillips hit a pair of free throws and the hosts held on.
Lander's offense struggled mightily during the opening stages of the game, scoring only four points in the first six minutes.
White's 3-pointer gave Augusta a 7-4 lead at the four-minute mark. The Lady Bearcats finally got past four points on Judge's 3 which tied the game at 7 with 13:56 left.
Fox's layup gave the Jaguars a 12-9 lead with 12:03 to go. But they would not score again for almost eight minutes.
Lander scored 18 unanswered points during those seven-plus minutes with Johnson's fast-break basket giving the hosts a 13-12 lead with 11:09 left. Johnson scored twice more, Lyons also scored twice, and Myrick added a 3 during the 18-0 run, making it 27-12 at the five-minute mark.
Fox scored with 4:25 to go, ending Augusta's offensive drought. The basket started a run of nine unanswered points for the Jaguars, with Jaecks scoring in the paint to pull the visitors within 27-21 with 1:24 left.
The Lady Bearcats led 29-24 at the break in a first half which included 36 turnovers, including 23 by Augusta.
The Jaguars scored the first six points of the second half on Jemimah Ashby's two free throws and layup, and Jaecks' bucket to take a 30-29 lead just inside the 18-minute mark, completing an 18-2 that started with the nine unanswered late in the first half.
Phillips drove inside for a layup to give the Lady Bearcats their first points of the second half, as they regained the lead, 31-30, with 16:38 left.
But a little more than a minute later, Augusta was back on top on Fox's basket in the paint. White's free throws extended the lead to 34-31 with 14:40 to go.
After an exchange of baskets, Johnson's 3 from the left corner tied the game at 36-all with 14:12 left. But Becky Newhouse scored inside to give the Jaguars a 38-36 lead at the 14-minute mark.
After Phillips made one of two free throws for Lander, Myrick stole the inbounds pass and got the ball to Johnson for a go-ahead 3-pointer to make it 40-38 with 13:43 to go.
Augusta's Newhouse made a layup off a long pass from Jaecks to tie the game at 40. The Lady Bearcats made a four-point run on a basket by Elkins and free throws by Phillips to lead 44-40. But Schreiber made a pair of three-point plays two minutes apart and Peterson hit a long jumper giving Augusta a 48-44 lead halfway through the second half.
Rasley's long jumper from the top of the key and Johnson's back-to-back baskets, including the fast-break layup that pushed her past the 1,000-point mark put Lander back on top 50-48 with 7:50 left.
But with the shot clock winding down to zero, Peterson took a desperation 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key and drained it, giving the Jaguars the lead again at 51-50. Peterson answered a Johnson jumper with another 3, and Augusta led 54-52 with 6:48 to go.
Phillips found an opening in the lane and made a game-tying layup with 5:38 left. But White answered, giving the Jaguars their last lead of the game at 56-54 with 5:13 left.
