Mercer University
Fla. Gulf Coast
Long Range Shooting Lifts Eagles over Women's Basketball, 98-50
1/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Junior Ry'van Buchanan scored a team-high 11 points and had five rebounds as the Mercer women's basketball team fell to Florida Gulf Coast 98-50 on Monday at the University Center.
The Bears lost their fourth-straight and fell to 3-11 (1-2 A-Sun) while FGCU captured its third-straight win and moved to 11-2 (3-0 A-Sun).
FGCU was 14-of-26 (53.8%) from beyond the arc on Monday while Mercer shot just 5-of-19 (26.3%) from long range.
Midway through the first half the teams were tied at 14 before the Eagles ripped off a 21-4 run that elapsed 5:32 of game time. Senior Kelsey Jacobson had 12 of the Eagles' points during that stretch.
Jacobson hit all eight of her three pointers in the first half, finishing the opening period with 24 points. Later on, she would miss her first three pointer of the second half, halting her bid at the NCAA record of nine consecutive three pointers made in a game.
Jacobson's first-half barrage helped the Eagles take a 51-27 lead into halftime. All told, the Eagles were 18-of-36 (50%) from the field in the first half.
Halftime did little to cool the hot shooting of the visitors, as FGCU hit four of their first six field goal attempts in the second half to push their lead to 27 with 16:15 to go.
The Eagles used a total team effort on their way to victory, as 10 of their 13 players scored in the second half.
Buchanan scored her 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and also booked two blocks, a steal and an assist on Monday. Buchanan's team-high scoring effort marked the third time she has paced the Bears in scoring this season.
Freshman Alicia Williams netted 10 points in the loss while also collecting five rebounds, two assists and a block. Williams has now scored in double figures in four of Mercer's last five games.
Mercer resumes A-Sun play hosting USC Upstate on Wednesday. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
