Bears Set Sights on Yale for 2020 Debut

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team opens up the 2020 calendar year with its first-ever matchup with the Yale Bulldogs on Thursday at 7 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-10) at Yale (9-5)
Location: New Haven, Conn. | Payne Whitney Gym
Live Stats: yalebulldogs.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Yale

A Decade of Dominance
As the 2010s came to a close, you can see the upward trend of the program since head coach Susie Gardner took the reins in 2010. Not only has Gardner become the winningest coach in program history with a record of 172-127, but her teams have also been some of the best on the court since Mercer added women's basketball in the 1970s.

Under Gardner, the Bears of the 2010s have the most conference wins out of any decade in program history with 89, as well as posting the second-best totals in wins and winning percentage (.573 pct.), trailing only the 1970s in both categories.

Mercer captured the last four four SoCon regular season crowns and two tournament titles after joining the conference for the 2014-15 season.

Lending A Helping Hand
Rookie Jill Harris has been one of the most selfless players for the Bears in the 2019-20 season with a team-high 46 assists on the year. The Navarre, Fla., native has more helpers than any other freshman in the Southern Conference and ranks 14th nationally among rookies.

Harris has distributed the ball extremely well as of late, recording at least four assists in six of the team's last eight contests.

Additionally, her 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best in the conference and eighth in the country among freshmen.

Foreign Territory
Mercer has struggled throughout the non-conference portion of the 2019-20 schedule, owning a 3-10 record. The Bears, who have won at least 20 games in five straight seasons and six-of-the-last seven, have suffered 10 losses before starting conference play for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.

Last Time Out
Mercer scored a season-high 24 points in the first quarter, but was unable to maintain that pace as it fell to Jacksonville in overtime, 87-83, on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

Mercer shot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) in the opening period and guided the Bears to their first 80-point performance of the year. Adversely, the Mercer defense held the Dolphins to 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from the floor, which led to Mercer's 14-point advantage heading into the second quarter.

Jacksonville found their shot throughout the rest of the game, however, shooting over 50 percent in each of the final three quarters and overtime. Shakayla Nevitt's 24 points led the Dolphins.

The dynamic duo of Amoria Neal-Tysor and Jaron Dougherty led the Bears with 26 and 22 points, respectively, while Neal-Tysor drained all six of Mercer's 3-pointers in the game. Dougherty added a career-high five assists along with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Neal-Tysor collected three helpers, three rebounds and two steals.

A total of four Bears reached double figures on the score sheet as Shannon Titus (16 pts./9 reb.) and Summer Pahl (10 pts./8 reb.) were both close to recording a double-double. Rookie Jill Harris dished out a game-high seven assists as Mercer posted a season-best with 25 helpers in the contest, its most in a game since Jan. 6, 2018.

Series History
This is the first-ever meeting between Mercer and Yale.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale has seen its fair share of success this season, sporting a 9-3 record. The Bulldogs have been trending upward as of late, winning six of their last seven contests.

The Bulldogs have three players averaging double-digit points with Roxy Barahman (16.0 ppg), Camilla Emsbo (15.7 ppg) and Ellen Margaret Andrews (15.6 ppg). Emsbo is also averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, the best on the squad. Barahman (38 assists) and Tori Andrew (30 assists) are the leading distributors for Yale, while Andrews' 26 steals is tops on the team.

Yale was predicted to finish fourth in the Ivy League'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.

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Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Summer Pahl

Shannon Titus

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