Turnovers Haunt Bears in Loss at Wofford

Saturday, January 11

Spartanburg, S.C.

2 P.M.

Mercer University

Wofford

1/11/2020 4:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Tia Benvenuti scored a team-high 15 points versus the Terriers.

By: Stephen Waldman

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team dropped a 77-49 decision at Wofford on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears recorded season lows in steals (3) and turnovers forced (6) in the setback.

Tia Benvenuti was one of three Mercer players to reach double figure points with 15, along with Jaron Dougherty's 14 points and Shannon Titus' 11 points. Dougherty collected seven rebounds to lead the squad, while Benvenuti and Titus added six boards each. Titus also led the team with four assists. Kiana Barkhoff was active on the defensive end of the floor, tallying three blocks and four rebounds.

How It Happened
The two sides traded scores early before a 12-2 run by Wofford gave the home side a 10-point edge with four-and-a-half-minutes left in the first quarter. The Bears cut the deficit in half before the start of the second period, thanks to a pair of treys by Amoria Neal-Tysor and Benvenuti.

Mercer managed to make it a one-possession game in the early going of the second quarter, but the Terriers slowly extended its lead back up to double digits by halftime.

The visitors opened the second half on a quick 5-0 run thanks to an early basket by Dougherty and a three-point play by Titus to come within five points. That would be as close as the Bears would come, however, as a 21-4 run by the Terriers would put the game too far out of reach for an attempted comeback by the Bears.

Notables
» Mercer is 0-2 to start conference play for the first time since 2012-13.
» Today was Mercer's largest loss to a Southern Conference opponent since joining the conference in 2014-15.
» The Bears posted season lows in steals (3) and turnovers forced (6).
» Benvenuti led the Bears with 15 points, three points shy of her career high.
» Barkhoff recorded a career-high three blocks.

Up Next
Mercer closes out its five-game road trip against Samford on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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.