(Washington, DC)-   Shaw held as much as a 12-point lead, but faded in the final ten minutes and fell to #2 Lander 81-65 in the opening game of the UDC Holiday Classic.

The Lady Bears (5-3), led by 11 in the opening minute of the second half, but Lander (10-0) scored ten unanswered points midway through the second half to take a lead they would never surrender.  For Shaw, this was the third game in five days.

With 14:04 left in the first half, Lander held a two-point lead after a hard-fought first six minutes.  Shaw then scored seven unanswered points, capped by Brittany Ransom's three-pointer, to take the 19-14 lead – a lead the Bears would hold until the opening minutes of the second half.

Aslea Williams scored five points in the closing minutes of the first to help the Bears to the eight-point 35-27 lead they would take into the locker room.

Alyssa Lane hit a three to open the second half for the Lady Bears, giving them an 11-point lead, but over the next three minutes, the Lady Bearcats would cut that deficit to two.  The two teams battled evenly for another two minutes.

With 14:58 left in the game, Lander's Clara Lyons hit a jumper to cut the Shaw lead to 47-45.  For the next three minutes, the two teams exchanged missed buckets and went scoreless until Lander's Mukia Myrick hit a jumper to break the drought and tie the game. 

It would be another minute and a half before the Lady Bears, in the form of two Williams' free throws, got back on the scoreboard, but by that time the Lady Bearcats had built an eight-point lead.  The Bears were never again able to get any closer than six.

Lander eventually pulled away, finishing with the 81-65 final score.

The difference for Lander in the second was the shooting percentage from the field.  In the first, they'd managed only a 30% field goal percentage, but hit 47.7% in the second.  By contrast, Shaw hit 34.4% in the first and 32.4% in the second. 

Williams led the Lady Bears with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Kyria Buford had 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.   Victoria Tanner and Alyssa Lane had ten points apiece for Shaw.

Shannon McKever had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Lady Bearcats.  Jasmine Judge had 21 points, and Myrick had ten.  Tasheba Butler had 19 rebounds to lead both teams, and Brittni Johnson had eight assists.

The Lady Bears return to action tomorrow afternoon when they play New Haven at 1:00 in the second day of play at the UDC Holiday Classic.  They return home on Thursday, January 6 to open their CIAA season against Saint Paul's at 6:00 p.m.

Photos:  Kyria Buford (left) had 14 points, while Aslea Williams (right) had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.