Mercer University
Notre Dame
Mercer Falls at No. 5 Notre Dame 93-36
11/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Mercer women's basketball team dropped a 93-36 decision to No. 5 Notre Dame on Tuesday evening in front of 8,290 fans at Purcell Pavilion.
Notre Dame (3-0) has now won 26 out of its last 27 home games at Purcell Pavilion, while Mercer's (3-1) five-game winning streak came to an end with the loss.
Notre Dame started quickly, beginning the game on a 12-0 run over the first 3:21 of play. A mid-range jumper by junior Sharnea Boykin stopped the run and got Mercer on the board, making the score 12-2 with 16:16 remaining in the first half.
The Fighting Irish continued to press the action and responded to Boykin's jumper with another lengthy scoring run. Notre Dame scored the next 10 points of the contest, capped by a pair of free throws by junior Natalie Achonwa, to widen its advantage up to 22-2 with 12:22 to go in the first half.
A three-pointer by sophomore Tabitha Bradshaw and back-to-back jumpers by classmate Precious Bridges halted Notre Dame's rhythm temporarily and made the score 30-9 with 8:20 remaining in the period.
The Fighting Irish ended the stanza strong, however, scoring 18 of the final 21 points, including seven-straight by junior Ariel Braker, to take a 48-12 lead going into intermission.
The second half featured more of the same; with Notre Dame beginning the period on a 29-7 run to effectively put the game away.
The Bears can hang their hats on how they played at the very end of the contest, out-scoring the Fighting Irish 13-4 over the final 6:16 of play in the contest.
Bradshaw led Mercer with 10 points, her third-straight double-digit scoring game, while Achonwa paced Notre Dame with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Mercer returns to the hardwood on November 24, when it travels to South Carolina to take on Furman. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Timmons Arena.
