Strong Second Half Sends Mercer to Win at WKU

Friday, December 18

Bowling Green, Ky.

7 P.M. ET

Mercer University

5-3,0-0SoCon

Western Kentucky

-14,00 CUSA

Mercer

Western Ky.

Photo by: Alex Keller

Strong Second Half Sends Mercer to Win at WKU

12/18/2020 10:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Shannon Titus finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 6 steals and 5 assists

By: Stephen Waldman

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Mercer women's basketball team started its six-game road swing with a commanding 71-54 victory at Western Kentucky on Friday evening at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Senior Shannon Titus played out of this world tonight, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, six steals and five assists in 39 minutes. The Johns Creek, Ga., native shot 6-of-15 from the floor and was one of three Bears in double figures, along with junior Jaron Dougherty, who scored a game-high 21 points, and redshirt senior Jada Lewis who added 17 points. Both Dougherty and Lewis propelled the Bears' offense in the second half as they combined for 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Dougherty added eight rebounds in the game, while Lewis and sophomore Jill Harris dished out four assists apiece.

The Bears shot a season-best 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the floor, including an impressive 57.1 percent (20-of-35) in the second half. Mercer had its transition game working overtime in the game, scoring 25 points off turnovers and 11 fast break points off nine steals. The visitors forced the Lady Toppers to turn the ball over 25 times and held them to shooting 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field and 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from 3-point range.

How It Happened
Both Mercer and Western Kentucky had their defenses tuned up to start the game as they kept the game scoreless for nearly two-and-a-half-minutes until Naomi Van Nes broke through with a layup for the first points of the game. The two sides jockeyed for position throughout the entire first quarter with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage. WKU hit a layup in the with three seconds left to end the period even at 13 apiece.

Titus and Dougherty ignited the Bears' offense as they scored the first eight points of the second quarter on 4-of-6 shooting to put Mercer ahead, 21-13, with 6:35 remaining before halftime. The visitors extended their lead to nine points at 24-15 with 3:02 left in the frame after a Sydneey Boykin layup before WKU battled back with a 10-2 run to cut Mercer's lead down to one at the break, 26-25.

6:34, 2nd Qtr | 🐻 21 🔴 13

The Bears take an 8-0 run to start the second quarter to create some separation from WKU! 🙌#DefineYourMoment | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/YiYsBKDWsb
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) December 19, 2020

WKU kept it within one possession for the first four minutes of the second half when Mercer utilized a 14-3 run to create some separation between the two teams. Over the span of three minutes and 56 seconds, Mercer made 5-of-6 shots from the floor, including draining its only triple, and went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Defensively, the Bears held WKU to just 1-of-5 shooting from the field over that stretch while forcing three turnovers. Lewis was a key contributor not only on that run but throughout the entire third quarter as she scored 11 of her 17 points in the period.

Mercer carried its sharp shooting from the third quarter into the fourth and gradually pulled away. The Bears held the Lady Toppers at bay as the home side was unable to get within double digits over the final eight minutes of the game as Mercer cruised to its first-ever win over Western Kentucky.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
On tonight's win…
"This was a great win for our program. I have so much respect for Western Kentucky and the tradition that they have here."

On Shannon's impact…
"We would not have won this game without Shannon Titus. She did everything that she could on both ends of the floor."

On the team's second half adjustments…
"Jaron didn't shoot the ball well in the first half and is usually one of our main scorers. Thankfully, she reversed herself in the second half and shot the ball like we know she can. We also need Jada to stay on the floor. This is the second game in a row that she has gotten two quick fouls. We need her in the game, but I couldn't play her in the first half with her fouls. She was able to get it figured out in the second half, though, and really played well and made a difference for us."

Player of the Game
Shannon Titus was locked in from the opening tip and elevated her game to an entirely different level tonight. The Johns Creek, Ga., native led the Bears with nine rebounds, six blocks, six steals and five assists while scoring 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. Titus recorded season highs in rebounds, blocks, steals and assists as she moved within 55 points of becoming Mercer's 27th 1,000-point scorer.

7⃣𝗽𝘁𝘀.
6⃣𝗿𝗲𝗯.
5⃣𝘀𝘁𝗹.
3⃣𝗯𝗹𝗸.
2⃣𝗮𝘀𝘁.

....yeah Shannon had a decent first half 😏#DefineYourMoment | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/P3kaHhFprE
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) December 19, 2020

Shannon Titus: 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 🤖
❌❌❌❌❌#DefineYourMoment | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/Ct1dVqRQLq
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) December 19, 2020

Notables
» Mercer defeated Western Kentucky for the first time in three meetings.
» The Bears shot a season-high 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the field.
» Mercer held WKU to 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from beyond-the-arc, the sixth time in eight games a team shot 25 percent or less from long range.
» Mercer scored at least 70 points for the third time in four games.
» The Bears forced WKU to commit 25 turnovers, the second-most in a game this season.
» This was the fifth time Mercer forced 20 or more turnovers in a game.
» Titus recorded season highs in rebounds (9), blocks (6), steals (6) and assists (5).
» Titus tied Rachel Selph for third in program history with 123 career blocks.
» She also passed Jo Jo Carter for ninth in career steals with 171.
» Titus reached double figures for the fourth time this year and 49th time in her career.
» This was the first time a Mercer player recorded six blocks in a game since Titus had eight against Furman on Feb. 8 last season.
» It was also the first time a Bear had six steals in a game since Titus' six against Western Carolina on Feb. 27 last year.
» Lewis reached double figures for the fifth time this season and 58th time in her career.
» Lewis tallied her 400th career made field goal in the game.
» Dougherty posted her team-leading fourth 20-point game of the season and 13th in her career.
» It was Dougherty's seventh game in a row reaching double figures.
» Dougherty made her 300th career field goal.
» Harris' four assists marked her fourth consecutive game with at least three helpers.
» Allie Thayne pulled down her 200th career offensive rebound tonight.
» Freshman Sydneey Boykin made the first two field goals of her career, going 2-of-4 tonight.
» Kiana Barkhoff matched her season high of three rebounds in five minutes of action.

Up Next
The Bears continue their road swing at Tennessee Tech on Monday with tip-off slated for 3 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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.