FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-22-05

Women's College Basketball: AASU 72, Lander 65

Release Courtesy of Lander University Sports Information

GREENWOOD, S.C. - Audosha Kelley, Alicia Durham, Jamie Sheridan and Jasmine Herron scored all but one of Armstrong Atlantic’s points in a 72-65 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Kelley scored 22 points, Durham had 19, Sheridan 17 and Herron 13 for the Lady Pirates, who improved to 14-6 overall and 4-2 in the Peach Belt. Sheridan was 4-for-6 from three-point range while Durham was 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Lavonne Thomas added three blocked shots.

Keunna Thomas led the Lady Bearcats (7-9, 2-4) with 16 points, seven steals and five assists, Tracy Jacobs had 15 points and nine rebounds, Natasha Hemphill added 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Lashaundra Dubose had 10 points. Jacquay White added three blocked shots.

After closing the first half with a 9-0 run, Armstrong led for all but about 10 seconds of the second half. Hemphill’s basket with 13:45 left in the game gave Lander its only lead of the second half at 36-35. Then Armstrong’s Herron hit a three-pointer to give the Lady Pirates the lead for good at 38-36.

The Lady Bearcats stayed close until under five minutes to play when Armstrong began to pull away. Leading 51-49, the Lady Pirates ran off 10 unanswered points for a 61-49 lead with four minutes to go. Sheridan hit a three-pointer and Kelley had five points during the run.

Armstrong Atlantic closed the first half with three consecutive three-pointers to take a 25-23 halftime lead. The Lady Pirates trailed 23-16 when Sheridan hit a three-pointer, and then Durham made a trey to cut the gap to 23-22. Sheridan’s second three-pointer gave the visitors the 25-23 lead with 50 seconds left in the half.

Lander shot only 26 percent from the floor in the first half (8-for-31) and trailed until Linlei Ward hit a three-pointer to give the Lady Bearcats their first lead at 13-12 with 9:35 left. Dubose’s basket with 5:50 to go increased the lead to 19-14. Lander’s biggest lead of the first half was seven, 23-16.

It was a sloppy first half with the Lady Pirates committing 15 turnovers to Lander’s 12.

For the game, Lander shot 35 percent from the floor (25-for-72), 63 percent from the free throw line (12-for-19), and only 20 percent from three-point range (3-for-15). Armstrong shot 43 percent from the floor (24-for-56), 67 percent from the line (16-for-24), and 42 percent from behind the arc (8-for-19).

The Lady Bearcats had a 45-41 edge on the boards. Armstrong finished with 25 turnovers to Lander’s 20.

- Pirates -