LANDER HOLDS OFF FURIOUS LADY PACER RALLY 68-67
USC AIKEN FALLS TO LADY BEARCATS IN PBC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

AIKEN, S.C.--With a number of double-digit comebacks to their credit this season, USC Aiken (20-8) almost pulled off their best yet.  Trailing fourth-seed Lander (20-11) by 16 points with 12:30 to play, the fifth-seeded Lady Pacers rallied within a single point with possession of the basketball, but the Lady Bearcats held on for the 68-67 win in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament.  (PHOTO BY: Scott Webster)

LaShonda Chiles broke NCAA Division II’s all-time scoring record, but it was a rebound that preserved her team’s victory over host USC Aiken on Thursday evening at the Convocation Center.

Chiles watched 56-40 second-half lead narrow to 68-67, and a turnover forced by Avonte Williams gave the Lady Pacers two chances at a game-winning shot with 24.6 seconds left.  Jordon Thomas’ shot was blocked out of bounds by Stephanie Ponds with 9.1 seconds remaining, then Williams drove to the basket and missed a shot to the left. The 5-2 Chiles grabbed the rebound with 2.9 seconds left, was fouled, and after a miss the Lady Bearcats broke up the outlet pass, keeping Lander’s postseason hopes alive.

Lander advances to the semifinals to meet top-seed Francis Marion at 4:00 PM on Saturday. USC Aiken will now await word of a possible at-large berth to the South Atlantic Regional, which will be announced on Sunday.

Lander led by double-digits early as a three-pointer by PBC Player of the Year Tiara Good gave the Lady Bearcats a 21-11 lead just nine minutes into the contest. That lead would stretch out to 18 on another three-pointer by Good, giving Lander the 38-20 lead with 3:02 left until intermission, and the Lady Bearcats would take a 40-27 lead into the break.

The Lady Pacers climbed back into the game midway through the second half, cutting the lead to six, 56-50, on a Meredith Legg three-pointer with 8:15 left in the game.  Another Legg three with 6:45 left cut it to five, and a Williams three-pointer cut the lead to a possession with 39.8 seconds left, 68-65.  Williams bucket with 25.2 seconds left set up the last-second drama.

Chiles became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division II history on the night with her second three-pointer of the night at the 14:48 minute mark of the first half, passing Dina Kangas of Minnesota-Duluth, who had 2,810 points from 1988 to 1991. With her 14 points tonight, Chiles has 2,819 in her four-year career at Anderson and now at Lander.

Good led all scorers on the night with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 three-pointers.

USC Aiken was led by Legg’s 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-11 three-pointers, while Williams and Morgan Johnson each finished the night with 15 points.  Legg moved into fifth place on the school’s all-time NCAA scoring list 1,085 career points. 

With their seven game homecourt winning streak snapped, the Lady Pacers finished their first season in their new home at 13-3, two of the losses coming to Lander by a combined six points.  After playing 27 regular season games with none decided by less than four points, the one that possibly ended the team’s year was a one-point contest. 

USC Aiken closed the year winning eight of their last 10 to share the PBC Regular Season Championship, but fell for the sixth time in the last seven games in the PBC Tournament. 

The Lady Pacers lose seniors Thomas, Williams, and LaToshia Broadwater, but return 10 of 13 players including three of their four scorers as USC Aiken will look to defend their share of regular season title and seek an unprecedented third-straight 20-win season. 

USC Aiken vs. Lander – Quotes
Lander head coach Kevin Pederson:
“I hope not to play USC Aiken for at least 300 more days. How we have won three games against them, I’m not real sure. That is an outstanding team, and Mike is one of the better coaches you are going to see in this business. His kids are always ready to play.”

“I can’t tell you how much it took for us to come in here at USC Aiken, play a well-coached team and come away with a victory.”

“It’s a good lesson for our kids. Their crowd really got to us. It got loud, and we made a few mistakes and got rattled a little. One of the hard things about basketball is getting a big lead early in a game. After that, you just have to play smart. We got a little hesitant, and they made some big shots, especially from Meredith Legg.”

Senior guard LaShonda Chiles:
(On setting the NCAA Division II career scoring record)
“I’m glad we got the win, and glad to be able to get the mark. It would’ve been sad to have lost and got the mark, but it feels better that we got the win in addition to the mark.”

Senior guard Tiara Good:
“That steal by LaShonda at the end was huge. It was a big play. We did get rattled a little, but we came together and locked down defensively when we needed to.”

USC Aiken head coach Mike Brandt:
“Our team has an enormous amount of heart, they made a great effort and had a great comeback against a great team. You are talking about the best scorer in Division II and the two-time Conference Player of the Year, and to be able to come back on them like that is tremendous. Unfortunately, one of those teams had to lose and we were the unfortunate team.”

“I felt confident that we would still win the game. My personality is to stay positive with them because it could’ve been worse. We had a chance to win in the end, and in a tournament like this, that is all you want is a chance to win in the end.”

Senior forward Jordan Thomas:
“Our speciality is coming back and if not winning in regulation, then go into overtime. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we would have a chance to come back. We played with a lot of heart, it’s just sad the way it ended.”

Newspaper Box Score
Lander vs USC Aiken
03/06/08 7:00 PM at Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)

LANDER 68, USC AIKEN 67

LANDER (20-11)
Good, Tiara 9-19 0-0 23; Chiles, LaShonda 6-13 0-2 14; Ponds, Stephanie 6-12 0-0 12; Butler, Andrea 2-2 2-2 6; McKever, Shannon 1-4 4-4 6; Butler, TaSheba 1-3 2-3 4; McCall, Candi 1-1 0-0 2; Smith, Kianna 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 26-59 9-13 68.

USC AIKEN (20-8)
Legg, Meredith 7-18 0-0 19; Williams, Avonte 6-14 2-3 15; Johnson, Morgan 4-8 7-7 15; Thomas, Jordon 3-13 1-2 7; Crapps, Cameron 2-4 0-0 6; Starnes, Megan 2-9 0-0 5; Harris, Triahna 0-0 0-0 0; Pinkney, Nakia 0-0 0-0 0; Broadwater, LaToshia 0-1 0-0 0; Leppanen, Satu 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-68 10-12 67.

Lander........................   40   28  -   68
USC Aiken.................   27   40  -   67

3-point goals--Lander 7-17 (Good, Tiara 5-10; Chiles, LaShonda 2-7), USC Aiken 9-25 (Legg, Meredith 5-11; Crapps, Cameron 2-4; Williams, Avonte 1-4; Starnes, Megan 1-3; Thomas, Jordon 0-3). Fouled out--Lander-None, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds--Lander 46 (Ponds, Stephanie 14), USC Aiken 33 (Thomas, Jordon 10). Assists--Lander 9 (Smith, Kianna 4), USC Aiken 15 (Starnes, Megan 6). Total fouls--Lander 18, USC Aiken 13. Technical fouls--Lander-None, USC Aiken-None. A-1021.

BOXSCORE