Saturday, January 14
Cullowhee, N.C.
2:00 PM ET
Mercer University
14-4, 3-1
59
at
57
Western Carolina
5-14, 0-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer | 0 | 24 | 16 | 19 | 59 |
| Western Carolina | 16 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 57 |
Team Stats
MER
WCU
FG%
.359
.429
3FG%
.111
.267
FT%
.667
.688
RB
34
38
TO
7
19
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
30
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Bears Rally For Last-Second Win Over Catamounts
1/14/2017 4:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Kahlia Lawrence exploded for 30 points to lead Mercer to a 59-57 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Sydni Means added 11 points to also lead Mercer's offense.
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The Bears were shutout in the first quarter as the Catamounts took a 16-0 lead. Mercer bounced back and began a rally by outscoring Western Carolina 24-14 in the second period to cut the Catamount's lead to 30-24 at the half.
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Mercer took its first lead with 8:45 remaining in the game and continued to battle with Western Carolina. With the score tied 57-57 with 0.9 left on the clock, Rachel Selph hit a last-second layup off an inbound play to win the game, 59-57.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Western Carolina came out hot to start the game and surged to an 11-0 lead in the first five minutes. Mercer's shots were not falling as the Bears went 0-17 in the first period and the Catamounts took a 16-0 lead at the end of the quarter. WCU opened the second period with another basket, but Mercer finally got on the scoreboard when Means hit a layup in the first minute to breathe some life into the Bears' offense. The teams traded baskets for just over a minute before Mercer went on a 12-0 run lasting 3:39 and cutting Western Carolina's lead to 22-16. The teams went back and forth for the final four minutes of the half as the Catamounts held on to a 30-24 advantage at halftime.
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Mercer continued to fight and stay in the game, but Western Carolina led for the entirety of the third period. After Lawrence opened the half with a jumper, the Catamounts used a 6-1 spurt to stretch their lead back to nine, 36-27. Mercer responded with an 11-4 run that cut the lead to just two, 40-38, with 3:14 left in the period. A pair of free throws for each team in the final two minutes kept WCU up, 42-40, heading into the final quarter.
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Lawrence opened the fourth period with six straight points to give Mercer its first lead of the game, 46-42. The Bears held on to a slim lead until Raziyah Farrington hit a layup with 3:00 on the clock to put the Catamounts back up 52-51. Back-and-fourth baskets resulted in four lead changes and two ties until Mercer went up 57-56 with 17 seconds left to play. Western Carolina's Kyia Hough stole the ball and was fouled on a layup attempt with three seconds remaining, giving WCU a chance to take the lead. Hough hit the first free throw and missed the second, knotting the score once again, 57-57. Mercer called a timeout and advanced the ball and after a failed inbound attempt, kept the ball and tried once again with 0.9 on the clock. Rosendal sailed the ball to Selph under the basket and Selph pivoted and banked a shot off the backboard as the buzzer sounded and the Bears won 59-57 in anxiety-inducing fashion.
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NOTABLES
General thoughts on the game:
"We got down 16-0 in the first quarter and that's a pretty big hole that we dug for ourselves. We had to talk about just chipping away, possession by possession. Honestly, I thought Western Carolina outplayed us and got us in foul trouble. Kahlia (Lawrence) thankfully had another amazing game and we had a miracle at the end of the game and Rachel (Selph) hit a big shot."
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RECORDS UPDATE
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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The Bears were shutout in the first quarter as the Catamounts took a 16-0 lead. Mercer bounced back and began a rally by outscoring Western Carolina 24-14 in the second period to cut the Catamount's lead to 30-24 at the half.
Â
Mercer took its first lead with 8:45 remaining in the game and continued to battle with Western Carolina. With the score tied 57-57 with 0.9 left on the clock, Rachel Selph hit a last-second layup off an inbound play to win the game, 59-57.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Western Carolina came out hot to start the game and surged to an 11-0 lead in the first five minutes. Mercer's shots were not falling as the Bears went 0-17 in the first period and the Catamounts took a 16-0 lead at the end of the quarter. WCU opened the second period with another basket, but Mercer finally got on the scoreboard when Means hit a layup in the first minute to breathe some life into the Bears' offense. The teams traded baskets for just over a minute before Mercer went on a 12-0 run lasting 3:39 and cutting Western Carolina's lead to 22-16. The teams went back and forth for the final four minutes of the half as the Catamounts held on to a 30-24 advantage at halftime.
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Mercer continued to fight and stay in the game, but Western Carolina led for the entirety of the third period. After Lawrence opened the half with a jumper, the Catamounts used a 6-1 spurt to stretch their lead back to nine, 36-27. Mercer responded with an 11-4 run that cut the lead to just two, 40-38, with 3:14 left in the period. A pair of free throws for each team in the final two minutes kept WCU up, 42-40, heading into the final quarter.
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Lawrence opened the fourth period with six straight points to give Mercer its first lead of the game, 46-42. The Bears held on to a slim lead until Raziyah Farrington hit a layup with 3:00 on the clock to put the Catamounts back up 52-51. Back-and-fourth baskets resulted in four lead changes and two ties until Mercer went up 57-56 with 17 seconds left to play. Western Carolina's Kyia Hough stole the ball and was fouled on a layup attempt with three seconds remaining, giving WCU a chance to take the lead. Hough hit the first free throw and missed the second, knotting the score once again, 57-57. Mercer called a timeout and advanced the ball and after a failed inbound attempt, kept the ball and tried once again with 0.9 on the clock. Rosendal sailed the ball to Selph under the basket and Selph pivoted and banked a shot off the backboard as the buzzer sounded and the Bears won 59-57 in anxiety-inducing fashion.
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NOTABLES
- Kahlia Lawrence led the Bears with 30 points and seven rebounds and added a steal. Lawrence has now reached double figures in each of the last nine games and has scored 30+ points twice this season.
- Sydni Means notched 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
- Rachel Selph tallied seven points, three rebounds and a block.
- Alex Williams added six points, four rebounds and two steals.
- KeKe Calloway had three points, three rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
- Mercer shot 35.9 percent from the field, which included 50+ percent in both the second and fourth quarters.
- Mercer won the turnover battle, 7-19, and scored 15 points off Western Carolina turnovers.
- Mercer is now 1-4 on the season when trailing at the end of the third quarter.
General thoughts on the game:
"We got down 16-0 in the first quarter and that's a pretty big hole that we dug for ourselves. We had to talk about just chipping away, possession by possession. Honestly, I thought Western Carolina outplayed us and got us in foul trouble. Kahlia (Lawrence) thankfully had another amazing game and we had a miracle at the end of the game and Rachel (Selph) hit a big shot."
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RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 14-4, 3-1 SoCon
- Western Carolina: 5-14, 0-4 SoCon
- Mercer: Hosts Furman on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.
- Western Carolina: At Chattanooga on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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