Mercer University
South Carolina State
Bears Look Ahead to Matchup with S.C. State
11/30/2019 4:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mercer is 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.
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BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (1-6) at South Carolina State (1-6)
Location: Orangeburg, N.C. | Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial CenterÂ
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | South Carolina State
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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 six of its first seven games. In total, the Black and Orange own an 144-103 edge when it comes to taking care of the basketball.Â
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 8.7 points per game with Jaron Dougherty (12.9), Shannon Titus (11.7), Amoria Neal-Tysor (11.4) and Jordan McLaughlin (8.7).
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 21 shots (3.5 per game), trailing only ETSU for the most in the SoCon.
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Jaron Dougherty's seven blocks leads Mercer and ranks fourth in the conference, while her 1.2 blocks per game is the third-best rate in the SoCon.
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Bears Against The MEAC
Mercer has played 29 of its 37 games against MEAC opponents against Florida A&M (12-17). The Bears have played Sunday's opponent, South Carolina State (3-0), the second-most with three meetings, followed by Howard (2-0) and Bethune-Cookman (1-1) with two meetings apiece. Mercer is also undefeated in its only meeting with Coppin State (1-0), while having never played against Delaware State, Morgan State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central.Â
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Last Time Out
Mercer dropped its sixth straight game with a 77-68 setback at Appalachian State on Friday.Â
The Bears shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the floor and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from 3-point range, both of which were season highs against Division I opponents. The Bears also set season highs in assists (18), field goals made (28) and 3-pointers made (8) while turning the ball over a season-low nine times.Â
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.Â
Mercer held a one-point edge at halftime, but a 19-8 run from the end of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter guided App State to the victory.Â
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Mercer is a perfect 3-0 all-time against South Carolina State and has held the Bulldogs to 55 or fewer points in ecah of the three meetings.Â
The last time these teams played was Dec. 19, 2017 when the Bears came away with a 74-53 win at Hawkins Arena. In that game, KeKe Calloway scored a game-high 26 points, while Kahlia Lawrence and Sydni Means contributed 17 points each. Lawrence added 11 rebounds for a double-double in the game, and Means' five assists were a game high.Â
ÂScouting the Bulldogs
South Carolina State enters Sunday's matchup on a five-game losing skid after a 81-75 win over Charleston Southern on Nov. 9. The Bulldogs have lost to Radford (60-45), UNC Wilmington (84-46), College of Charleston (76-55), UNLV (66-57) and North Dakota (95-53).Â
Taylor Brown (16.6 ppg) and Heniaya Moten (12.6 ppg) make up the two-headed monster for S.C. State as Brown also leads the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg). Jacquece Alston is another key player for the Bulldogs with a team-high 14 assists and 14 steals.Â
S.C. State was picked to finish sixth out of 11 teams in the MEAC preseason poll, while Brown garnered Preseason All-MEAC First Team honors.Â
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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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