Lander Cruises Past Armstrong Atlantic State into Semifinals
AIKEN, S.C. -- Starting its defense of their 2008 Peach Belt
Conference (PBC) Tournament title in convincing fashion, the No.
5-seeded Lander University Lady Bearcats cleaned the glass to wipe
out No. 4 seed Armstrong Atlantic State University today (March 5)
in the Quarterfinals, 83-63.
Lander improves to 18-10 on the season and will advance to the
semifinal round to face top-seeded and national No. 14 Francis
Marion University Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. Armstrong Atlantic
falls to 17-11.
Lander owned a 53-36 advantage in rebounding, resulting in a 27-7
edge in second-chance points.
The 83 points by the Bearcats are the most in the tournament thus
far, and the most since Lander beat Francis Marion University in
the semifinals 93-73 a year ago.
All-PBC Second Team selection Shannon McKever posted a 19-point,
11-rebound double-double aided by 13 points from PBC Freshman of
the Year Ciara Lyons. Ten Bearcats reached the scoring column.
For the Pirates, All-PBC First Team choice Lacey Willis had 17
points and nine boards, while Ashley Duhart added 11 points.
The Lady Bearcats came out of warm-ups hot, breaking out to a
quick 19-4 lead off a 15-0 run beginning at the 18:17 mark. Lander
got balanced scoring in that early run, getting points from seven
different players.
Lander made more than they missed in the first half, entering the
lockerrooms shooting at a 52.8 percent clip (19-36). They also
owned a healthy advantage in rebounding (24-16) including a 12-0
lead on second-chance points. McKever had a near double-double at
halftime, carding 10 points with seven caroms. The Pirates went in
the half down 44-27.
The Bearcats cooled off in the second stanza, finishing at 42.1
percent (32-76) from the floor, just two percent better than their
opponents (24-60). Lander owned the offensive glass as well, 25-12.
PBC Tournament -- GAME 6 -- Armstrong Atlantic State vs.
Lander
Armstrong Atlantic State
Head Coach Matt Schmidt
"Our basketball team had a great run at the end of the season up
until today."
"Their pressure really caused a lot of problems for us...We had no
flow the entire night."
"We had some high percentage shots at the beginning of the game and
they just did not fall."
"We held McKever down at our place. Tonight she really hurt us. She
took it to us. They obviously had a point to prove."
"We struggle scoring at times we have to convert on easy
posesssions."
On his first year at Armstrong..."We were picked to finish
eighth in the league at the beginning of the year and we come out
and tie for third; we're the fourth seed in the conference
tournament."
"We did some good things."
"I'm in the car tomorrow morning (recruiting)."
Lander Head Coach Kevin
Pederson
"It's an unusual situation where your first conference matchup is
the team you just played on Saturday. When you lose a game, it's
much easier to go out and make adjustments. For Armstrong, they
won. They pretty much came up with the same game plan they used
down there. I thought that was an advantage for us."
"Lacey WIllis is one of the best players I've seen in the four
years I've been at Lander."
"We talked all week about getting off to a strong start
defensively. Our defense set the tone."
"Shannon (McKever) was very aggressive. She brought her game to
them."
On the semifinal matchup with Francis Marion..."We're not
playing Francis Marion. We're playing the No. 1 (seeded) team in
the tournament. Both times we've played them, it's been a very
close and the kind of ran away from us at the end. That's their
experience."
On their recent tournament success in Aiken..."There's a certain
comfort level playing here."
Lander's Shannon
McKever
"When you have three or four days to prepare for a team you just
played, you get a good game plan. I knew I had to go at her
(Willis). When we played Saturday, I played soft."