Sunday, January 6
Macon, Ga.
2 P.M.
Mercer University
8-7
68
vs
72
Columbia
4-9
1
2
3
4
F
Columbia
19
15
22
16
72
Mercer
20
12
13
23
68
Team Stats
COL
MER
FG%
.467
.394
3FG%
.292
.280
FT%
.474
.417
RB
47
39
TO
14
9
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Bears Fall Short Despite Late Rally
1/6/2019 5:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Amanda Thompson secured her fifth consecutive double-double
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball squad dropped the final non-conference contest of the season, 72-68, despite a ferocious rally in the closing minutes. The Bears trimmed a 14-point deficit with three minutes left down to just two with thirty seconds remaining. The wide margin proved too much too late as Columbia held on for the four-point advantage, dropping Mercer to 8-7 on the season.
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The Bears received a boost from starters Amanda Thompson and Linnea Rosendal, as well as freshman guard Amoria Neal-Tysor. Thompson posted her fifth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Rosendal and Neal-Tysor chipped in for 16 and 13 points.
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STAT OF THE GAME
Neither team could put the game away from the charity stripe, combining for 14-of-31 from the free throw line. The Bears finished 5-of-12 from the line, while Columbia finished 9-of-19 and 6-of-15 in the fourth quarter.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Amanda Thompson continues to be the spark plug for the Bears' offensively. The senior captain finished the game with her fifth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. Thompson finished 9-of-15 from the floor and grabbed eight of her 11 rebounds in the final quarter.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening quarter of play, with Mercer building a 10-5 lead following a three pointer from Rosendal. The Lions responded with an 8-2 run to claim its first lead of the game, 13-12. Neither team led by more than one possession with Mercer registering the final four points of the quarter, including a layup by Neal-Tysor prior to the buzzer, giving the Bears the 20-19 advantage.
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Neither squad could separate from one another in the second quarter as Columbia outscored Mercer 15-12. The Bears built a five-point lead twice in the first five minutes of the second frame, but the Lions responded each time. Columbia outscored Mercer 8-1 in the final five minutes of the opening half, securing the 34-32 lead heading into the locker room.
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The third quarter was all Columbia as the Lions outscored Mercer 22-13, extending their lead to 11 points with 10 minutes left. Columbia secured its first double-digit lead with 6:36 to play in the third quarter following a 10-2 run out of the locker room. The Bears could not close the gap any closer than eight points for the remainder of the frame.
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The Bears were down but not out as Neal-Tysor and Rosendal cut the deficit down to nine with 1:31 to play to give Mercer one final chance. After Shannon Titus trimmed the lead to seven, Columbia went 1-for-2 at the line to push the lead back to eight. Once again, Rosendal and Neal-Tysor connected on back-to-back threes to cut the deficit down to just 70-68 with thirty ticks left on the clock. The Lions hit 1-of-2 at the line again as Thompson corralled the second missed free throw with 23 seconds left, trailing by three. On the ensuing possession, Neal-Tysor passed up on a contested three and slashed to the basket for a reverse layup. However, her attempt bounced harmlessly off the rim and the Lions grabbed the rebound to seal the Bears' fate. Mercer was unable to capitalize on a game-tying attempt as Columbia iced the game with an extra free throw, extending the lead to 72-68 with just 10 seconds left.
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NOTABLES
COACH'S CORNER
What to look at moving forward:
"We don't play Samford until Saturday, so we have plenty of time to watch film and do individual skill work and also have some very difficult practice to figure out who is going to play with heart. This is not the way I anticipated us going into SoCon play. I felt like Amanda, Linnea, Amoria and Jaron came to play today and gave us all they had. However, you cannot win with only four players."
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Was the loss an effort or execution issue:
"We called a lot of timeouts and had time to talk to the staff and the team. It was an effort thing. We will watch film and I will evaluate myself to see what we need to do. We missed a whole of shots by a couple of starters that we need to hit shots. At the end of the day, that is what you have to have to win."
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RECORDS UPDATE
NEXT GAME
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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The Bears received a boost from starters Amanda Thompson and Linnea Rosendal, as well as freshman guard Amoria Neal-Tysor. Thompson posted her fifth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Rosendal and Neal-Tysor chipped in for 16 and 13 points.
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STAT OF THE GAME
Neither team could put the game away from the charity stripe, combining for 14-of-31 from the free throw line. The Bears finished 5-of-12 from the line, while Columbia finished 9-of-19 and 6-of-15 in the fourth quarter.
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Amanda Thompson continues to be the spark plug for the Bears' offensively. The senior captain finished the game with her fifth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. Thompson finished 9-of-15 from the floor and grabbed eight of her 11 rebounds in the final quarter.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening quarter of play, with Mercer building a 10-5 lead following a three pointer from Rosendal. The Lions responded with an 8-2 run to claim its first lead of the game, 13-12. Neither team led by more than one possession with Mercer registering the final four points of the quarter, including a layup by Neal-Tysor prior to the buzzer, giving the Bears the 20-19 advantage.
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Neither squad could separate from one another in the second quarter as Columbia outscored Mercer 15-12. The Bears built a five-point lead twice in the first five minutes of the second frame, but the Lions responded each time. Columbia outscored Mercer 8-1 in the final five minutes of the opening half, securing the 34-32 lead heading into the locker room.
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The third quarter was all Columbia as the Lions outscored Mercer 22-13, extending their lead to 11 points with 10 minutes left. Columbia secured its first double-digit lead with 6:36 to play in the third quarter following a 10-2 run out of the locker room. The Bears could not close the gap any closer than eight points for the remainder of the frame.
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The Bears were down but not out as Neal-Tysor and Rosendal cut the deficit down to nine with 1:31 to play to give Mercer one final chance. After Shannon Titus trimmed the lead to seven, Columbia went 1-for-2 at the line to push the lead back to eight. Once again, Rosendal and Neal-Tysor connected on back-to-back threes to cut the deficit down to just 70-68 with thirty ticks left on the clock. The Lions hit 1-of-2 at the line again as Thompson corralled the second missed free throw with 23 seconds left, trailing by three. On the ensuing possession, Neal-Tysor passed up on a contested three and slashed to the basket for a reverse layup. However, her attempt bounced harmlessly off the rim and the Lions grabbed the rebound to seal the Bears' fate. Mercer was unable to capitalize on a game-tying attempt as Columbia iced the game with an extra free throw, extending the lead to 72-68 with just 10 seconds left.
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NOTABLES
- With the loss, Mercer concludes non-conference play with an 8-7 record, falling to 0-2 all-time against Columbia.
- Amanda Thompson tallied her seventh double-double of the season and fifth in-a-row following the 18-point, 11-rebound performance.
- Thompson moved into a tie for 9th all-time in blocks (55) with Zsaquez Flucker, as well as 8th all-time in steals (168) with Jo Jo Carter.
- Rosendal poured in 16 points for her second-highest point total of the season, knocking down four threes on the evening.
- Neal-Tysor tallied her first collegiate double-digit performance with 13 points, knocking down two big three pointers in the second half.
- KeKe Calloway finished with nine points and eight rebounds, tying her season-high of rebounds set against Georgia Southern on Nov. 12, 2018.
- Mercer's bench scored a season-high 18 points, outscoring the opponent's bench for the first time this season.
COACH'S CORNER
What to look at moving forward:
"We don't play Samford until Saturday, so we have plenty of time to watch film and do individual skill work and also have some very difficult practice to figure out who is going to play with heart. This is not the way I anticipated us going into SoCon play. I felt like Amanda, Linnea, Amoria and Jaron came to play today and gave us all they had. However, you cannot win with only four players."
Â
Was the loss an effort or execution issue:
"We called a lot of timeouts and had time to talk to the staff and the team. It was an effort thing. We will watch film and I will evaluate myself to see what we need to do. We missed a whole of shots by a couple of starters that we need to hit shots. At the end of the day, that is what you have to have to win."
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RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 8-7
- Columbia: 4-9
NEXT GAME
- Mercer vs. Samford on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
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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