Mercer University
UNC Greensboro
Women's Basketball Cruises Past Spartans
2/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Linnea Rosendal netted 18 points to lead a trio of double-digit scorers as the Mercer University women's basketball team rolled past UNCG, 81-47, on Saturday afternoon. Rachel Selph and Kahlia Lawrence scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Lawrence also pulled down 11 points for a double-double.
Lucy Mason led UNCG with 16 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears took control early, surging to an 11-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. Another 11-5 run for Mercer stretched the Bears' advantage to 22-7 with 3:17 remaining in the period. The Spartans used a 5-0 spurt to cut the Bears' lead to 22-12, but KeKe Calloway hit a jumper at the end of the quarter to halt UNCG's momentum and put Mercer back 24-12. The teams traded baskets for a majority of the second period with Mercer narrowly outscoring UNCG, 6-4, until Brittnee Broadway sank a pair of free throws to spark a 7-0 Mercer run that saw Mercer go up 37-16 with 1:41 left in the half. The Spartans closed out the half with a 7-1 spurt, but Mercer still entered the locker room with a 38-23 advantage.
Mercer opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run, pushing its lead to 48-23 with 6:09 left in the period. The Bears outscored the Spartans by a total of 20-10 in the third quarter, entering the final 10 minutes of play with a 58-33 advantage. UNCG scored three points at the beginning of the fourth period, but Mercer embarked on a 15-0 run that lasted 5:20 and increased the Bears' lead to 75-36 with 3:51 to play. The Spartans outscored the Bears 11-6 in the final three minutes, moving the final score to 81-47.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds to outrebound UNCG, 56-38. The Bears also scored 22 second chance points compared to just five from the Spartans.
NOTABLES
- Linnea Rosendal led the Bears with 18 points, her 13th double-figure game of the season. Rosendal also had three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Amanda Thompson pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the Bears. Thompson also had two points and a steal.
- Kahlia Lawrence registered her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds and also had an assist.
- Rachel Selph scored 12 points, recording her fifth double-figure scoring game this season. Selph also had three rebounds and two blocks.
- Sydni Means tallied nine points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.
- Brittnee Broadway scored a career-high nine points and added a career-high-tying three steals and a rebound.
- KeKe Calloway registered eight points, two rebounds and an assist for the Bears.
- Alex Williams notched five rebounds, two points and a season-high-tying two assists.
- Kayla Potts had six points, three rebounds and an assist.
- Ciarra Edwards and Shon Kitchens each contributed two points and a rebound, while Ally Welch notched a career-high-tying three rebounds.
- The Bears shot 39.4 percent from the field, including 35.0 percent from outside the arc. The Bears also held the Spartans to 25.0 percent from the field.
- Mercer won the turnover battle, 17-19, and scored 25 points off of UNCG turnovers.
QUOTABLES
"UNCG took us to overtime last time and one of our goals was to see if we had gotten better since our very first Southern Conference game of the year and I think tonight proved that we've made some strides. We've gotten better in some areas and I was really thrilled that we were able to play everyone on the bench. It was a total team effort and we played really well." – Head Coach Susie Gardner
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer improves to 18-6 overall and 8-1 in league action, while UNCG moves to 8-16 on the season and 0-9 in SoCon play.
UP NEXT
Mercer will host Samford on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
For all the latest information on Mercer women's basketball, please visit MercerBears.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Mercer basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @MercerWBB or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Mercerwbb.
