Mercer University
Belmont
Women's Basketball Closes Season with 77-66 Triumph Over Belmont
2/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's basketball team ended its 2011-12 campaign on a high note after capturing a 73-66 win over Belmont on Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
Mercer (6-23, 4-14 A-Sun) won its second-straight contest to close the season and captured the season series from Belmont (12-17, 11-7 A-Sun), the No. 3 seed in next week's Atlantic Sun Women's Basketball Championship.
Junior Ry'van Buchanan and sophomore Briana Williams paced the Bears with 28 and 27 points, respectively, marking the third time this season that both players have scored 20 or more points in the same game.
The Orange and Black started quickly out of the gates, building a double-digit lead just six minutes into the contest. A lay-in by Williams put Mercer out in front 21-8 with 14:05 remaining in the first half.
The Bears kept a comfortable lead on the Bruins for the remainder of the stanza, with a jumper from Buchanan making the score 48-35 in favor of the home team heading into halftime. The 48 points in the first half by Mercer tied its output against USC Upstate on February 4 for the most points scored in the first half all season.
Belmont didn't go away, however, beginning to chip away at the Bears lead at the start of the second half. A mid-range jumper by Belmont senior Alyssa Visbeen cut Mercer's lead to just two, 56-54, with 9:59 remaining in the game.
The two point margin was as close as the Bruins would get as the Orange and Black completed the wire-to-wire victory. Late in the game, Mercer got another late clutch play from Williams to secure the victory. With 48 seconds to play, the McDonough, Ga. native converted an old-fashion three-point play to put Mercer ahead, 70-64 and snuff out Belmont's comeback bid.
Senior Haley Nelson paced Belmont with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The game concluded Mercer's season, but with all 13 players on the roster returning next season, the future looks bright for the Bears and second-year head coach Susie Gardner.
