CLEMSON, S.C. – Lander’s Miriam Recarte drained a jumper as the buzzer sounded to stun Clemson, 74-72, in the Tigers’ only exhibition contest of 2019-20. Clemson opens the regular season on November 6.
Kendall Spray led the Tigers offensively with 23 points, including seven threes, in her first action as a Tiger. Kobi Thornton added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds, while Mikayla Hayes went 5-of-6 from the floor, tallying 12 points in her first game for Clemson. Freshman Amari Robinson amassed 10 boards on the night.
A layup by Thornton gave the Tigers a 14-13 lead with 1:00 left in the first, before back-to-back layups by Hayes and Thornton pushed Clemson’s lead to five after the game’s first 10 minutes. The Tigers opened their largest lead of the game at 14, as Spray nailed back-to-back threes in the final minute of the half to give Clemson a 41-27 lead.
Lander cut the lead to four midway through the third, but Clemson was able to push it back to nine on a layup by Hayes with 1:25 remaining. Spray then nailed her second buzzer beater of the evening, a turnaround jumper as time expired, to give Clemson the 56-48 lead heading into the game’s final 10 minutes.
Spray hit her sixth three of the night with 4:42 to go, giving the Tigers a 67-55 advantage, but Lander turned up the pressure, roaring back to take a 70-67 lead with 1:24 to go. Spray’s seventh and final three of the night tied the game at 70, then the teams traded baskets and headed into the game’s final 30 seconds, tied at 72. After a missed shot and offensive rebound, Recarte hit the game-winner as time expired.
Clemson returns to action on Wednesday, November 6, taking on Furman at 7:00 p.m. in the regular season opener.
