Mercer Advances with 67-42 Win over Wofford

Thursday, March 2

Asheville, N.C.

4:00 PM

Mercer University

24-5

Wofford

13-17

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Wofford	11	10	12	9	42
Mercer	14	17	25	11	67

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3/2/2017 6:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Patrick T. Walsh

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Second-seeded Mercer Bears used a big third quarter to topple Wofford 67-42 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championships presented by General Shale. The Bears pulled away out-scoring the Terriers 25-12 in the period.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Wofford came out firing in the first quarter as the Terriers hit 3 of 7 shots (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc in order to keep pace with the Bears. Mercer only had a six-point lead midway through the quarter before going on a 6-0 run.

But the shots didn't fall for Wofford in the second quarter and Mercer got hot, shooting 43.8 percent from the field. KeKe Calloway was 2 of 3 on 3-point attempts while adding a field goal and a free throw for nine points in the second quarter alone. Calloway, who didn't start, provided 12 of Mercer's 14 bench points at halftime.

Mercer put the game away right out of the gate after halftime with a 25-point performance in the third frame. Alex Williams took control on the court with 10 points and two rebounds while Mercer out-rebounded Wofford, 11-4, in the quarter.

Facing a 56-33 deficit entering the final quarter, Wofford struggled to make shots in the face of Mercer's overwhelming defense as the Terriers connected on just 2 of 11 attempts in the fourth quarter. Rachel Selph led the Bears with four points and two rebounds in the quarter.

NOTABLES

With the win, Mercer now leads the all-time series over Wofford, 9-1. The Bears are 2-0 against the Terriers in SoCon Tournament play.
The win extends Mercer's to seven games, marking a season-long stretch.
With the win, Mercer is now 4-2 all-time in the Southern Conference Tournament.
KeKe Calloway's five 3-pointers in the game moved her into ninth place all-time in Mercer's single-season history. She now has 60 career 3-pointers.
Thursday's game marked the 90^th consecutive game that Kahlia Lawrence has recorded a start.

COACH GARDNER'S TAKE
"I am pleased with our entire game today. We know Wofford can get hot from three. What a great player Chloe [Wanink] is. They did hit some 3s on us to start the first quarter but I thought Sydni [Means] did a great job of running our team. Obviously KeKe [Calloway] shot the ball extremely well today. Amanda Thompson did a great job rebounding. One of our focal points was not to be out-rebounded so I am really, really pleased with our effort today."

RECORDS UPDATE

Mercer: 24-5 (1-0 neutral)
Wofford: 13-17 (0-1 neutral)

UP NEXT

Mercer: faces No. 6 Samford on Friday, March 3 at 1:15 p.m.
Wofford: Season concluded.

How to Follow the Bears:
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.