Bears Eying Peach State Matchup with Georgia

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team caps its three game road trip with a Peach State matchup against Georgia on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Bears are coming off a 111-56 setback at Alabama on Sunday.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019 | 7:00 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (1-3) at Georgia (2-1)
Location: Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
TV: SEC Network+
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Georgia

Protect the Rock
Possession has been a key to the offensive gameplan for the Bears throughout the early portion of the 2019-20 campaign as Mercer has held the advantage in turnovers in three of its four games. In total, the Black and Orange own an 86-65 edge when it comes to taking care of the basketball.

Den of Thieves
Mercer has been one of the most disruptive defensive units to play against this season, creating 51 steals through its first four games. At a clip of 12.8 steals per game the Bears rank 24th nationally and first in the SoCon in average steals and 13th in the country in total thefts.

Summer Pahl leads the team with 11 steals on the year, ranking second on the conference.

Block Party
In addition to leading the Southern Conference in steals, the Bears have also been one of the best rim protecting teams in the conference. Mercer has blocked 15 shots (3.8 per game), matching ETSU for the most in the SoCon.

Sierra Votaw leads the way with four blocks on the year, while Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty have each registered three.

Far From Home
The Bears continue their three-game road trip on Sunday at Alabama following a 1-1 homestand to open the year. Mercer closes out the trip at in-state rival Georgia on Thursday.

Last Time Out
The Bears fell to the University of Alabama on the road, 111-56, on Sunday. The two sides fought back-and-forth through the first 10 minutes of the game, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by De'sha Benjamin gave the Crimson Tide a 20-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. Benjamin's shot propelled the home squad to a historic second quarter in which Bama outscored Mercer 41-9, setting a program record for points in a quarter.

The Crimson Tide displayed their depth as four players reached double figures and three others contributed nine points each. Alabama shot 54.2 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from beyond-the-arc in the game, in addition to 71 bench points.

For Mercer, Shannon Titus scored a team-high 15 points. Amoria Neal-Tysor added 10 points while bringing down a team-high five rebounds. Rookie Jordan McLaughlin dished out a game-high six assists.

Series History
Georgia has run away with the series as of late, winning 22 consecutive showdowns. The Lady Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 24-14. Mercer is 6-16 when playing in Athens, while each of the last two meetings were decided by seven or fewer points.

The most recent meeting between these two squads came last season when Georgia came away with a 67-60 victory. In that game, Shannon Titus contributed 12 points while adding a team-high seven rebounds and three steals. KeKe Calloway scored a team-high 21 points in the game, while Amanda Thompson also had 12 points.

Scouting the Bulldogs
After starting the season 2-0, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season to Georgia Tech on Sunday, 73-40. Georgia had previously beaten Kennesaw State (80-65) and North Carolina A&T (72-54).

Gabby Connally, who was named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team, is the team's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game. She has also been the team's best deep threat, making 6-of-10 shots from 3-point range. Additionally, she leads the squad with 18 assists and seven steals.

Georgia ranked 10th in the preseason conference poll after seeing its season end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 86-76 loss to Arkansas.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB(Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Jaron Dougherty

Jordan McLaughlin

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Summer Pahl

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

Sierra Votaw

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