Bears Host Bulldogs in SoCon Opener

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Women's Basketball will look to kick off the Southern Conference schedule with a win over Samford tomorrow. The contest is slated to begin at 2 p.m. inside Hawkins Arena and will be the front leg of a doubleheader with the Mercer Men's Basketball team (vs. ETSU @ 4:30).

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (8-7, 0-0) vs. Samford (5-10, 0-0)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Todd Wilson, Sybil Blalock & Avery Braxton
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Samford
PROMO: Faculty/Staff Appreciation

Welcome Back
The Mercer Women's Basketball squad would like to invite all Mercer Women's Basketball Alumni to tomorrow's game. All alumni who attend will be able to watch the morning shoot around, as well as go on a tour of the newly renovated team room. Immediately following the game, the Mercer Athletic Foundation will be providing a dinner for those who RSVP for the event.

Successful Openings
Mercer has seen success in league openers under Coach Gardner. Since joining the SoCon, Mercer is 4-0 in conference openers with wins over Western Carolina, UNCG, ETSU and Wofford. This will be just the second season that the Bears will open SoCon play at home and the first against Samford. Under the direction of Coach Gardner, the Bears are 6-2 in league openers, dating back to ASUN action.

Macon History
Amanda Thompson's consistency has not gone unnoticed by the league office, awarding the senior forward with her third consecutive SoCon Player of the Week award on Tuesday. This is the fourth time that Thompson earned the award, becoming the first player in Mercer history to receive four SoCon Player of the Week awards in a single season. Thompson is also the first player since ETSU's Tianna Tarter to claim three consecutive player of the week honors and four in a single season. Despite an 0-2 record last week, Thompson averaged yet another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Ett Två Tre
Linnea Rosendal has put together a strong senior campaign for the Bears, averaging a career-best 9.1 points and 2.6 assists per game. The Sweden native ranks second on the team in threes made (31) and leads the team in three-point percentage with .352. Her 50 made field goals is the second-most in her career, while her 39 assists marks a new single-season high for the Stockholm native. Rosendal has hit at least one three pointer in 14 of the 15 games on the season. Rosendal is just seven three pointers shy of passing Mercer great Andrea Congreaves for sixth all-time in program history.

Last Time Out
Mercer dropped a Sunday contest to Columbia by the final score of 72-68 inside Hawkins Arena. Mercer kicked off the back-and-forth affair with a 10-5 lead before the Lions responded with an 8-2 run. Amoria Neal-Tysor nailed a layup prior to the buzzer, giving the Bears the 20-19 advantage. Neither squad could separate from one another in the second quarter as Columbia outscored Mercer 15-12, taking the 34-32 lead at halftime. The third quarter was all Columbia as the Lions outscored Mercer 22-13, extending their lead to 11 points with 10 minutes to play. Mercer was down but not out as Neal-Tysor and Rosendal cut the deficit down to nine with 1:31 to play to give Mercer the fighting chance. The duo continued to chip into the deficit with Neal-Tysor draining a three to pull the Bears to within two (70-68). The Lions went 1-of-2 on the next trip to the free throw line and Neal-Tysor's reverse layup bounced harmlessly off the rim to seal Mercer's fate.

Amanda Thompson collected her fifth double-double in a row off 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rosendal finished the game with 16 points, knocking down four threes. Neal-Tysor chipped in for a career-high 13 points and four assists.

Series History
Mercer is 17-5 all-time against Samford, including 8-2 when playing in Macon, Ga. The Bears have won 14 consecutive games against the Bulldogs, including knocking Samford out of the SoCon Tournament a season ago, 81-44.

Beat the Bulldogs
Samford enters the game with a 5-10 record, most recently defeating Montevallo 73-47 on Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs have dropped five of the last seven games with wins over Denver and Montevallo.

Natalie Armstrong leads the team in points (8.5) and rebounds (5.7). Paige Serup is second on the squad in points scored with 8.4 and leads the team in three pointers made with 30.

As a team, Samford is averaging 58.1 points per game, while allowing 68.1 to opponents. The Bulldogs shoot in volume from downtown, knocking down 7.3 threes per game. Samford has proven to display tight defense in the past, holding Mercer to just 48 points in Hawkins Arena a season ago.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Linnea Rosendal

Amanda Thompson

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