Bears Battle in Home Loss to Bama

Sunday, December 13

Macon, Ga.

2 P.M.

Mercer University

3-3,0-0SoCon

Alabama

5-0,0-0SEC

Alabama

Mercer

Photo by: Kayla Davis

12/13/2020 6:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Shannon Titus scored a season-high 21 points in the game

By: Stephen Waldman

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's basketball team battled against Alabama in a 78-61 loss at Hawkins Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears celebrated Alumni Day during the game, recognizing more than a dozen former players who returned to Middle Georgia for the matchup.

The difference in the game was the visitor's post play as Alabama outscored Mercer in the paint, 40-12. The Crimson Tide added 17 points off turnovers and shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor and 22-of-32 (68.8 percent) from the free throw line. Mercer's defense forced Alabama to turn the ball over 10 times, generating seven steals, and blocking four shots.

Mercer finished the game 24-of-63 (38.1 percent) from the floor, 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) from 3-point range and 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe. Shannon Titus (21 pts.) and Jaron Dougherty (20 pts./12 reb.) led the Bears offensive efforts, while Dougherty collected her third double-double of the year. Titus finished with a complete stat line after tallying six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Amoria Neal-Tysor joined Titus and Dougherty in double figures with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from long range in addition to a game-high seven assists.

How It Happened
Alabama came out of the gate red hot as the visitors made six of its first seven shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 makes from beyond-the-arc. The Crimson Tide took control of the game with a 14-2 run over a three-minute stretch to push their lead to 19-6 with two-and-a-half-minutes remaining in the opening period.

The Bears bounced back with a strong effort in the second quarter as the home team started to chip away at the deficit. After a pair of free throws by Jasmine Walker extended Bama's lead to 20, 36-16, it was all Mercer for the final two minutes of the first half. The Bears compiled a 9-0 run over the last 1:41 of the quarter, starting with a jumper from Dougherty. Titus earned a pair of trips to the free throw line, knocking down all four shots to make it a 14-point game. Following another stop on the defensive end, Titus caught the ball at the left elbow and jacked up a contested 3-pointer with Walker pressuring her. Titus was unphased, however, as she found nothing but net to send the Bears into the locker room with some momentum. The 3-pointer, Titus' first of the year, capped the team's 9-0 run to end the quarter as she scored seven consecutive points.

💥💥💥𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆💥💥💥

Shannon 💵es in from deep as the first half expires! #DefineYourMoment | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/5eQfJOHCbd
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) December 13, 2020

The Mercer defense stepped up big in the final minutes of the quarter, forcing Alabama to go 0-of-4 from the field over the final 3:31 of the period.

Alabama created some separation in the third quarter when a late 6-0 run by the visitors put them back ahead comfortably by 20. While Mercer's offense came to life in the fourth quarter scoring a game-high 25 points, the deficit was too large to overcome.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
On Alabama's offensive approach…
"The bottom line is we didn't guard [Ariyah] Copeland. We talked about No. 22 for the last three days, and we knew what a challenge she was going to be for our post players. We had four post players to choose from, and I gave all four of them a shot at guarding her. But she had 26 points and was 9-of-10 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She was our biggest problem on defense, and we dug ourselves into a hole in the first quarter simply because we weren't defending her. I'm disappointed because I felt like we had two good days of preparation leading into the game, but we just didn't come to play in terms of guarding Copeland."

On Shannon's performance…
"I thought Shannon played an exceptional game for 40 minutes. Shannon was the main player that got it done on both ends of the floor. She played like she looked like she could play against an SEC or ACC opponent."
On message to the team heading into South Carolina State…
"I talked to the four post players who guarded Copeland tonight and told them that I don't care if they score. We need a defensive stopper who will defend the best post players in our league, which we have very good post players in the SoCon."

Player of the Game
Shannon Titus returned to form against the Crimson Tide, scoring 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting while gathering six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. It was Titus' first 20-point game of the season as she moved within 75 points of becoming the 27th member of Mercer's 1,000-point club. The Johns' Creek, Ga., native went off in the second quarter, scoring 12 points in the frame.

Notables
» Titus scored a season-high 21 points in the game, her 10th career time recording at least 20 points.
» Titus' three steals moved her into 10th on Mercer's all-time list with 162.
» Titus has recorded multiple steals in each of the last four games, including three games with at least three steals.
» Titus has brought down six or more rebounds in five games this season.
» Titus tallied four assists for the fourth time this season.
» Dougherty tallied her third double-double of the season and 11th of her career.
» Dougherty has reached double figures in the last five games, recording four games with at least 15 points and three where she reached 20.
» Jill Harris has dished out at least three assists in four of the last five games.
» Neal-Tysor has hit three or more treys in four games this season.
» Neal-Tysor reached a pair of milestones against Alabama with her 500th career point and 100th career assist.
» Neal-Tysor matched her season high with seven assists.
» Freshman Sydneey Boykin scored her first career point tonight after going 1-of-2 from the free throw line.
» Boykin added the first two rebounds of her career.
» Naomi Van Nes tallied two steals in the game, her first steals since March 1, 2017 against Pittsburgh when she was a freshman at North Carolina.

Up Next
The Bears remain at home to face South Carolina State on Tuesday in their final home game of the non-conference slate. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The game will also be on the radio on the mercer Sports Network (100.9 The Creek and SportsMic) with the Voice of the Bears, Rick Cameron, on the call.

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.