Mercer Drops Sixth Straight at App State

Friday, November 29

Boone, N.C.

6:30 P.M.

Mercer University

1-6,0-0SoCon

Appalachian State

1-5,0-0Sun Belt

Mercer

Appalachian St.

11/29/2019 9:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Tia Benvenuti scored a career-high 18 points against the Mountaineers.

By: Stephen Waldman

BOONE, N.C. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team dropped its sixth straight game after a 77-68 setback at Appalachian State on Friday evening.

The Bears shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the floor and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) on the night, both of which were season highs against Division I opponents. Both teams took care of the rock tonight as Mercer held an 11-9 advantage in turnovers while recording the only four steals of the contest. The Bears also set season highs in assists (18), field goals made (28) and 3-pointers made (8).

The problem was that Appalachian State outrebounded the Bears, 41-30, and went to the free throw line 30 times with 23 makes from the charity stripe.

Three Mercer players reached double figures for scoring, led by Amoria Neal-Tysor's game-high 22 points. Tia Benvenuti added an efficient career-high 18-point performance on 8-of-12 shooting, while Shannon Titus contributed 11 points. Titus brought down a team-high eight rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots. Rookie Jill Harris dished out a game-high six assists, along with five rebounds and two points in 37 minutes on the court.

Pre Stanley was App State's leading scorer with 21 points and five rebounds, including a perfect 11-for-11 showing on the free throw line. Additionally, Bayley Plummer posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

How It Happened
Things looked promising for the Bears at the break as the visitors closed out the first half on a 16-7 run to take a one-point lead into halftime. Benvenuti gave Mercer the 34-33 advantage with 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter with one of her two treys in the game.

A back-and-forth third quarter ended with a 10-4 App. State run that put the home team up, 56-50. The Mountaineers combined that with a 9-4 to open the final period to take an 11-point edge. The home team hit 8-of-10 free throws down the final five minutes to stave off the Bears' comeback attempt.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
The team's success shooting the ball…
"I felt we made strides tonight shooting the ball. Amoria shot the ball well from 3-point range and Tia scored for us. We just couldn't get stops and we put them on the free throw line too much. We continue to get out-rebounded, but we are working hard as a program to get this going in the right direction. The players are dialed in and focused on making those changes.

Player of the Game
Neal-Tysor's game-high 22 points came primarily from long-range success, making 6-of-9 shots from beyond-the-arc. The Sanford, N.C., native finished 8-of-15 from the floor, along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Notables
» Benvenuti scored a career-high 18 points in her first double-digit scoring effort.
» The Reston, Va., native hit multiple 3-pointers for the first time in her career.
» Neal-Tysor recorded her second 20-point game of the season.
» She became the first Mercer player to hit at least five 3-pointers in a game this season.
» Harris recorded a career-high six assists in the game.
» It was her second consecutive game with at least five helpers.

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.