Women’s Hoops Returns to Hawkins for Sunday Matinee

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team returns home to Hawkins Arena after a three-game road trip for a matchup against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday.

The Bears are excited to return to their home court after three tough games at Kennesaw State, Alabama and Georgia.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019 | 2:00 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (1-4) vs. Eastern Kentucky (2-2)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Craig Lawson and Sybil Blalock
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Western Kentucky
Promotion: Fansgiving

Balance Is Key
The Bears' offense has been one of the most balanced attacks in the conference. Mercer is the only team in the SoCon with four players averaging at least 9.0 points per game with Jaron Dougherty (13.6), Shannon Titus (11.6), Amoria Neal-Tysor (11.2) and Jordan McLaughlin (9.0).

Home Sweet Home
Mercer is happy to return home to Hawkins Arena following a grueling three-game road trip. The Bears struggled on the road, being outscored, 279-180, and outrebounded, 144-89, over that stretch.

Den Of Thieves
Mercer has been one of the most disruptive defensive units to play against this season, creating 65 steals through its first five games. At a clip of 12.8 steals per game the Bears rank 22nd nationally and first in the SoCon in average steals and 13th in the country in total thefts.

The Bears have been ferocious as an entire unit, owning five of the top seven individual steals per game in the SoCon.

Jordan Mc-Ballin'
Rookie Jordan McLaughlin has made an immediate impact through her first five collegiate games, averaging 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game while playing team-high 30.4 minutes. The Charlotte, N.C., native is the only freshman in the Southern Conference to average 9.0 points and 2.8 assists on the season.

Last Time Out
The Bears closed out their three-game road trip with a 76-60 defeat against Peach State foe Georgia on Thursday. Mercer forced the issue early in the game as an 11-0 run in less than two minutes gave the visiting squad a 13-4 lead with 5:35 remaining in the first half.

The Bears defense was swarming though the first four-and-a-half minutes, forcing the Bulldogs into seven turnovers on their first 10 possessions of the contest. That fast start propelled Mercer to a 16-14 lead after the first quarter.

Mercer took advantage of Georgia's 23 turnovers by converting that into 25 points with 14 steals on the evening. Three players reached double-digit points for Mercer, led by Jaron Dougherty's game-high 16 points.

Shannon Titus recorded 14 points, while Amoria Neal-Tysor contributed 12 of her own. Dougherty added a game-high three blocks and three steals to her total, while Titus brought down a team-high five rebounds. The Johns Creek, Ga., native also tallied a game-high four steals, matching Jill Harris' number of thefts in the game. Jordan McLaughlin contributed a team-high four assists and five rebounds, along with eight points.

Series History
With just contest in the last quarter century, the Bears and Colonels have each won two of the four matchups. Mercer won the first-ever meeting in the most lopsided decision in the series with a 108-88 victory in 1976. Eastern Kentucky won the next two games in 1984 (50-41) and in 1994 (52-49) before Mercer edged the Colonels in the most reecent meeting, 69-64 on Nov. 22, 2014.

In that game, Precious Bridges (21 points) and Kahlia Lawrence (18 points) led the Bears' offense in the first game between Mercer and EKU in Macon.

Scouting the Colonels
After starting the season 2-0 with wins over Northern Kentucky (69-62) and Memphis (63-60), Eastern Kentucky has dropped its last two games against Butler (73-41) and Miami (Ohio) (75-57).

Bria Bass who is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds has led the Colonels. I'Liyah Green has brought down a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game, while Shay Solomon and Qay Stanton are the primary ball handlers with 13 and 12 assists, respectively.

EKU was picked to finish last in the 12-team conference's preseason poll.

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.

Women’s Hoops Returns to Hawkins for Sunday Matinee

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Jordan McLaughlin

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Shannon Titus

Footer

Mercer University Athletics