Aiken, S.C.----As the adage goes, the third time was the charm for the No. 24 Lander University women’s basketball team as they defeated the Wingate Bulldogs 72-67 in double overtime in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional final at the USC Aiken Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C. The Lady Bearcats advance to the Elite Eight and will play No. 15 Rollins College (Fla.) March 20 in San Antonio. Wingate ends the 2011-2012 season with a 24-8 record.
 
“We talked about this being the third time. We used it as a positive,” said Lander head coach Kevin Pederson. “The first time, we should have won. The second time, Clayton State was the better team at the time. We’re thankful for three chances at the Sweet Sixteen and for the opportunity to go to San Antonio.”
 
This was Lander’s third straight appearance in the regional final, but the first two visits did not end well for the Bearcats, as they lost to Tusculum in 2010 and eventual national champion Clayton State in 2011. This was Wingate’s first regional final appearance since 2008. “We thought that the team with the ball last would win,” said Wingate head coach Barbara Nelson, when asked about her end-game strategy. “Lander is an outstanding team with a great inside and outside combo.”
 
Lander led 31-21 at halftime but a rejuvenated Wingate squad cut the lead to 33-31 with 16:33 to play in the game. The Bearcats roared back with an 11-5 run over the next five minutes, led by freshman guard Jasmine Judge. Lander pushed the lead to 50-40 with 7:33 to play, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to five, 52-47, with 3:33 left.  Wingate completed the comeback with a layup by sophomore guard Janitsha Williams (Statesville, N.C.) with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 54 and force overtime.
 
In the first overtime, Lander jumped out to a 58-54 lead after Brittni Johnson hit her second of two free throws with 3:25 left. Wingate tied the game at 60 with a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Nikki Burton (Charlotte, N.C.) with 1:58 remaining. After a series of missed shots and turnovers, Burton had a chance to win it for the Bulldogs following a steal with 19 seconds left but her shot from the right elbow hit the front of the rim and time ran out before a rebound by either team, ending the first overtime tied at 60.
 
Lander took a 63-60 lead 52 seconds into the second overtime but a Burton layup and jumper after a steal gave Wingate a 64-63 lead with 3:14 left. Lander took the lead for good on a three pointer by Johnson with 1:26 to play. Wingate cut the lead to one, 68-67 with 1:05 to play, only to have Lander answer with a jumper by Ciara Lyons with 33 seconds left. Burton had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer with seven seconds left, but her shot hit the rim and the rebound was pulled down by Judge, sending Lander to its first Elite Eight in school history.
 
Burton led all scorers with 21 points and was joined in double figures by senior Simone Rutledge (Atlanta, Ga.). Lander was led by Johnson’s 20 points. Senior Kaylyn Small added 19 points and led all players with 22 rebounds, 17 of them coming on defense. “Our seniors changed the culture of our program,” Nelson said. “They gave us the eye of the tiger mentality.”

(Wingate University senior sports information student assistant Steven Grandy wrote this article. A Sport Management major from Raleigh, N.C., Grandy won the District III Athlete Profile portion of the CoSIDA Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest in 2010.)