GREENWOOD, SC – Guard Tiara Good scored 19 points and made several key plays down the stretch to help Lander University hold off Francis Marion University for a 72-65 Peach Belt Conference win, Wednesday night (Feb. 14) in women’s basketball action at Horne Arena.

Lander improved to 13-11 overall and 7-6 in the PBC, while Francis Marion (5-19, 2-11) dropped its seventh consecutive game. The Lady Bearcats swept the season series.

Sophomore Katherine Kiefer came off the FMU bench to score a career-high 23 points, including an 8-of-9 showing at the free throw stripe. Junior guard Brittany Young added 18 points and seven assists, and moved into fifth place on the Patriot career assists list with 416, passing Gwen Canty (1981-85). Freshman forward Yasmean Dixon tallied 10 points for her sixth double-digit effort in the past seven contests.

Good made only six of 21 shots from the floor, but the Wake Forest transfer pulled down a Lander career-high 13 rebounds, while adding seven assists. Stephanie Ponds posted 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Lady Bearcats, while April McClendon added 12 points and Anna Fleming 10 points.

Francis Marion opened the second half with a 12-4 run, turning a 35-29 halftime deficit into a 41-39 lead on a basket by Dixon with 16:20 left in the game. It was the first lead for the Patriots since early in the game at 6-4. Lander regained the lead and went up 49-45 on Jasmine Collier's 3-pointer at the 12:45 mark.

Kiefer converted three-point plays to close it to 49-48 and later to tie the game at 53-53 with 9:38 to go. McClendon gave the Lady Bearcats the lead for good with two free throws, making it 58-57 at the 7:22 mark. After a pair of baskets by Good, McClendon hit two more free throws for a 64-59 advantage with 4:25 to go. FMU rallied again, pulling within 64-63 with 2:42 to go on Young's basket in the lane.

Crouch's steal and pass to Good for a layup extended Lander's lead to 66-63 with 2:02 left. Then Ponds scored a layup off an inside pass from Good, increasing the Lady Bearcat lead to  68-63 with a minute left.

Kiefer hit two free throws to pull the Patriots to within 68-65 with 43 seconds remaining, but Good grabbed a key offensive rebound off Crouch's missed 3-pointer with 30 seconds to go to maintain possession for Lander and Ponds was fouled with 17.6 seconds left. Ponds made both free throws to extend the lead to 70-65.

FMU's Chelsea Quinlan missed a 3-point shot from the right corner and Good grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled, and made both free throws with seven seconds left for the game's final points.

The Lady Bearcats broke an 8-all tie with a 12-0 run that included a four-point play, a three-point play, and a 3-point basket. Fleming started the run with a three-point play and McClendon completed an unusual four-point play. McClendon made a foul shot but missed the second, grabbed the rebound, scored, was fouled and converted the free throw. Crouch hit a 3-pointer, and then McClendon rebounded her own miss again and scored to make it 20-8. Collier gave Lander its biggest lead of the half with a 3-pointer to make it 27-14 with 9:18 to go.

Francis Marion responded with seven unanswered points, pulling within 27-21 on Shavone Mack's layup with 3:35 left in the half. Kiefer converted a three-point play and made a 3-pointer to pull the Patriots to within 33-29 with 40 seconds to go. Good's two free throws gave Lander a 35-29 halftime lead.

The Lady Bearcats made 23 of 68 shots from the floor (34 percent), six of 23 from 3-point range (26 percent), and 20 of 26 free throws (77 percent). Francis Marion made 26 of 59 shots from the floor (44 percent), only one of 12 from behind the arc (8 percent), and 12 of 13 free throws (92 percent). Lander had a 44-38 edge on the boards.

FMU plays host to Georgia College & State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the school celebrating Homecoming 2007.