Mercer University
East Tenn. St.
Williams Nets 750th Career Point in Loss at ETSU
1/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Sophomore Briana Williams scored her 750th career point on Saturday afternoon as the women's basketball team fell in Atlantic Sun play to East Tennessee State, 72-46 at the Memorial Center.
Mercer dropped its sixth-straight game and fell to 3-13 (1-4 A-Sun) while ETSU took its third win in its last four games and moved to 3-11 (2-2 A-Sun).
Williams became the first Mercer player to score 750 points in two seasons since both Courtney Ford (861 points) and LaToya Jackson (797 points) accomplished the feat during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Williams finished with seven points on Saturday, leaving her 246 points short of becoming the program's 22nd player in the 1,000 point club.
Freshman Precious Bridges paced the Bears with 10 points on Saturday while junior Ry'van Buchanan chipped in eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Bridges scored the game's first bucket, knocking down a transition jumper just 58 seconds in. Mercer was aided by poor aim for the hosts in the early going, as ETSU missed their first four field goal attempts and went scoreless until Maria Bond hit a free throw for the Lady Bucs' first points at the 18:54 mark.
Bridges' bucket was the only score Mercer would get before the first media stoppage and the Bears found themselves behind 5-2 as play halted with 15:46 on the clock. Things wouldn't improve for Mercer as ETSU came out of the break using a full-court press, forcing Mercer into quick turnovers and pushing the lead to 13-2.
After a Tarita Gordon layup put ETSU in front by 26, Mercer scored the final three points of the first half to go into the break behind 39-16.
With 15:57 to go in the second half, the Lady Bucs' lead had ballooned to 34 on a pair of free throws for Amy Duke. Mercer finished strong though, outscoring the hosts 27-19 after that point.
Mercer returns to A-Sun play at USC Upstate on Monday with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.
