Second Half Surge Powers Bears Past Tennessee State

Saturday, November 28

Macon, Ga.

2 P.M.

Mercer University

1-1,0-0SoCon

Tennessee State

0-1,0-0OVC

Tennessee St.

Mercer

Photo by: Jhalen Wingate

Second Half Surge Powers Bears Past Tennessee State

11/28/2020 6:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Jaron Dougherty posted her ninth career double-double with 25 points and 19 rebounds.

By: Stephen Waldman

MACON, Ga. – A 50-point second half propelled the Mercer women's basketball team to its first victory of the season with a convincing 81-61 win over Tennessee State at Hawkins Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Mercer was all over the glass on both ends of the court, outrebounding TSU 52-38 in the game, including 16 offensive boards that turned into 14 second chance points. The Bears' defense was active all afternoon as they generated 10 steals on 19 forced turnovers and blocked nine shots. Defensively, Mercer held TSU to just 20-of-65 (30.8 percent) from the floor and 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) on threes.

The Orange and Black shot an impressive 46.6 percent (34-of-73) from the floor in the game, including a 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) performance from beyond-the-arc. Mercer has seen a great deal of success shooting the long ball in the early going of the 2020-21 season, averaging 7.5 makes per game while making 39.5 percent of its attempts from 3-point range.

Individually, junior Jaron Dougherty stole the show for the Bears as she put up an astounding 25 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and three steals while playing all 40 minutes of the game. The Buford, Ga., native shot 12-of-23 in the game, including making 6-of-11 attempts in the second half. Fellow junior Amoria Neal-Tysor contributed her second 20-point performance in as many games with 23 points, in addition to posting game highs with seven assists and four steals. The Sanford, N.C., native went off in the second half, going 7-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 on 3-pointers for 19 points while dishing out five assists, pulling down three rebounds and creating two steals in the final 20 minutes.

Redshirt senior Jada Lewis (15 pts.) and senior Shannon Titus (10 pts.) joined Dougherty and Neal-Tysor in double digits for the contest. Additionally, redshirt senior Naomi Van Nes added six rebounds in the game, including three on the offensive end of the court, and sophomore Jill Harris dished out six assists.

How It Happened
Mercer got off to a slow start offensively after an initial 6-2 lead evaporated into a 16-10 deficit following a 13-4 run by TSU gave the visitors a 16-10 with 1:15 remaining in the opening period. The visitors extended their lead to eight early in the second quarter, causing the Bears to awaken from their hibernation and go on a 16-3 run over the next five-plus minutes of the game. Mercer went 6-of-9 from the field over that stretch and recaptured the lead, 31-26. The Lady Tigers made a layup in the final minute of the half to trim Mercer's lead to 31-28 heading into the intermission.

The two sides battled back-and-forth to start the third quarter as TSU regained the lead at 36-35 with 7:19 remaining in the period, but a layup by Naomi Van Nes 14 seconds later put the Bears back ahead for good. Mercer scored 10 unanswered points over the next 2:09 to create some separation between the two teams and led, 45-36. The Bears continued to pressure the TSU ball handlers into making bad decisions which resulted in plenty of fast break opportunities for the home team. Mercer went on to outscore TSU 23-14 in the third quarter to take a 54-42 advantage into the final frame.

Despite TSU clawing its way back to a six-point game at 62-56 with 5:04 remaining, Mercer's offense was just too explosive for the Lady Tigers to contain as a 19-5 run closed out the game as the Bears cemented their first victory of the season.

Player of the Game
Jaron Dougherty was a dominant force for the Bears in this afternoon's victory as she scored 25 points and collected 19 rebounds for the ninth double-double of her career. The Buford, Ga., native became the first Mercer player to record 15+ points and 15+ assists in the same game since Amanda Thompson accomplished put up 21 points and 16 rebounds at Wofford on Jan. 31, 2019. Dougherty matched her career high with four blocks in the game and added three steals while being an effective option in breaking TSU's full-court press.

Notables
» Mercer snapped a four-game losing skid to Tennessee State, picking up its first win over the Lady Tigers since 1990.
» This was the Bears' first win against a team from the Ohio Valley Conference since the 2015-16 season.
» Mercer documented its first 20+ point victory over a division I opponent since the March 7, 2019 when it beat Western Carolina 55-32 in the SoCon Quarterfinals.
» The Bears shot a season-high 46.6 percent from the floor.
» Mercer has held its opponent to 25.0 percent or worse from long range in both games this season and is only allowing 2.0 treys per game.
» Adversely, the Bears have made 15 triples through the first two games after averaging just 2.6 per game last season.
» Mercer reached 80 points in regulation for the first time since an 85-73 victory over UNCG on Feb. 14, 2019.
» Jaron Dougherty tallied her ninth career double-double with 25 points and 19 rebounds.
» Dougherty recorded Mercer's first double-double with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds since Amanda Thompson had 21 points and 16 rebounds at Wofford on Jan. 31, 2019.
» Amoria Neal-Tysor posted back-to-back 20-point games for first time in her career.
» Neal-Tysor went 5-of-7 from 3-point range, marking the first time a Mercer player had at least five triples in a game since she drained six against Jacksonville on Dec. 29 last season.
» Neal-Tysor generated a career-high four steals.
» Mercer has had two players record 20+ points in two of its last three games after Dougherty and Titus both scored 24 points in the SoCon Semifinals against UNCG last season.
» Jada Lewis contributed 15 points, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes off the bench.
» Eliza Snyder added three rebounds and a block in 19 minutes off the bench, all of which are career highs.

Up Next
Mercer heads out on the road for the first time this season as the Bears travel to Clemson on Wednesday for a 12 p.m. tipoff. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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.