Mercer Falls to WKU Despite Dougherty's Double-Double

Friday, November 8

Macon, Ga.

4:30 P.M.

Mercer University

1-1,0-0SoCon

Western Kentucky

-11,00 CUSA

Western Ky.

Mercer

Mercer Falls to WKU Despite Dougherty's Double-Double

11/8/2019 7:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Jaron Dougherty recorded her first double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team was unable to benefit from a 23 point/13 rebound double-double by Jaron Dougherty as they dropped a 75-62 setback against Western Kentucky at Hawkins Arena Friday afternoon.

Dougherty was flirting with a double-double by the end of the first half with 11 points and nine rebounds at the break. Rookie Jordan McLaughlin was the only other Mercer player to reach double-digits with 10 points. Amoria Neal-Tysor and Tia Benvenuti each dished out a team-high five assists, while Shannon Titus and Sierra Votaw both blocked a shot in the contest.

Raneem Elgedawy was the driving force behind WKU's offense with 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting along with 19 rebounds, one block and two steals. As a team, the Hilltoppers shot 42.9 percent from the floor (27-of-63), 47.1 percent from beyond-the-arc (8-of-17) and outrebounded Mercer 51-27.

How It Happened
The Bears were able to score the first points of the game, but a 14-2 run by Western Kentucky over the next 4:34 spotted the visitors a 10-point advantage. Mercer surged late in the first, however, to cut the deficit to 21-14 thanks to buckets from Sierra Votaw, Jordan McLaughlin and Summer Pahl.

The second quarter was the Dougherty show as she hit 3-of-6 attempts from the field for seven of Mercer's 13 points in the period, along with six boards. The Buford, Ga., native finished the half in style as she banked in a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut WKU's lead to one, 28-27.

Dougherty continued her offensive surge in the third quarter by going 6-for-7 for 13 points, paired with another four rebounds. The Bears and Toppers traded baskets until 3:33 remaining in the third when a Dougherty jumper handed the home squad a 44-43 advantage – their first since 2-0 early in the game.

Mercer kept it close throughout most of the remaining minutes, but Western Kentucky found its stroke from long range to pull away throughout the final four minutes.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
Takeaways from today's game…
"The biggest thing is our rebounding. I think we need to learn to settle down a little bit so we aren't getting off to such a slow start early on and missing so many shots. We need to try to find the right combinations for the right time. Who is going to defend the other team's best player and who is going to play post defense, those types of things. I'll know much more after I get a chance to watch some film, but for the most part we can't just have one player scoring 26 points and not have anyone else show up offensively."

Player of the Game
Dougherty was the Bears' best player on the court, and it showed as she posted career-highs in points (26), field goals made (12), field goals attempted (21), 3-pointers made (1), 3-pointers attempted (2), rebounds (13) and minutes (36).

Notables
» Dougherty recorded her first-career double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
» The Bears dropped to 0-2 in the all-time series against WKU.
» Mercer saw its eight-game home winning streak snapped.
» McLaughlin tallied her second 10-point effort in as many games.

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.