AUGUSTA, Ga.  – It was a two-point game with just over two minutes to go, but the GRU Augusta women's basketball team was held off by the Lander Bearcats 72-67 in Peach Belt Conference action Saturday afternoon in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The game served as 2014-15 Senior Day and for the GRU Homecoming coronation ceremony.

The Jags (8-17, 7-11 PBC) went up 4-0 to start the game over Lander (22-5, 15-3 PBC) after Kariel Hutt and Tavia Sykes made the first two buckets of the game. The Bearcats quickly came back on a Breshay Johnson free throw and took the lead when Bre Crum drove the lane for a layup to give LU their first lead.

LU went up by as much as eight in the first half, but just under four minutes, GRU poured on the scoring to cut the deficit in the first half.  The Jags used an 8-0 run to get within three of the Bearcats and go into the half down 26-23.

Aarika Judge paced all scorers in the opening 20 minutes with eight points, but Hutt was close behind for GRU with seven.

For the game, there were eight tied scores and seven-lead changes, and the Jags knotted the game right out of the half when Camille Gee drained a wide-open three pointer at the top of the key to tie the game at 26-all. Both teams answered each other's baskets in the next few minutes, but LU used their bench to jump back to a decent lead and were up 48-40 with 8:50 to go in the game.

A 7-3 run got the Jags back in the contest and things turned in GRU's favor. Gee found Kayla Roberts in the corner for a long jumper to make it 64-62 with 1:59 remaining. The Jags couldn't connect down the stretch and missed two three point attempts in the same possession to give the ball back to LU and drop the game 72-67. 

Hutt's 15 points and 11 rebounds paced the Jags, while Gee added 14 points and Fynaardt and Roberts chipped in 12 each. Lander had five in double-figure points, highlighted by Judge's 15.

The Jags host rival USC Aiken on Wednesday, Feb. 25 for a 5:30 p.m. PBC game in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The game is slated as a blackout and fans are encouraged to wear black!

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