Bears Wrap Up Non-Conference Slate at UNCW

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team heads back out on the road to face UNC Wilmington in its final non-conference game of the 2020-21 season on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (5-3) at UNC Wilmington (3-2)
Location: Wilmington, N.C. | Trask Coliseum
Live Stats: uncwsports.com/livestats
TV: FloHoops
TV Talent: Steve Barone and Tom Lamont
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UNC Wilmington

50 Years of Mercer Basketball
The Mercer women's basketball team is celebrating 50 years of competition throughout the 2020-21 season as the team is going to highlight a different decade each month from October to February for their accomplishments and the impact they made on the program.

Mercer's inaugural season was in 1970-71 when the Bears won their first-ever game against Wesleyan, 45-23.

Throughout the last half century, the Bears have collected multiple championship banners, including nine regular season conference titles and seven tournament crowns. Mercer has also won two regional tournaments and has been to the postseason 14 times.

Titus Closing In on 1,000 Points
Senior Shannon Titus is closing in on becoming the 27th member of the 1,000-point club in program history. The Johns Creek, Ga., native has scored 945 points throughout her career in the Orange and Black, putting her 55 points shy of reaching the milestone.

Top Defensive Performances of 2020-21
The Bears put together one of the best defensive performances in Division I basketball this season when they held the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs to 27 points in a 77-27 win on Dec. 15. It was the fourth-fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent this season and only the sixth time a D1 team scored under 30 points in a game.

Pts. (Score)               School-Opponent                                     Date
23 (23-79)                  UMass Lowell at #3 UConn             12/12/20
24 (24-117)                McNeese at #7 Baylor                      12/19/20
26 (26-71)                  Samford at #17 Indiana                     12/3/20
27 (27-77)                 S.C. State at Mercer                        12/15/20
28 (28-98)                  S.C. State at #RV UNC                        12/3/20
30 (30-99)                  Sacred Heart at Rutgers                  12/20/20

Block Party
The Bears have been one of the most active teams around the rim, recording the seventh-most blocks in the country with 45 through the first eight games. Mercer leads the SoCon in total blocks and blocks per game (5.6), the 29th-highest average in the nation.

Senior Shannon Titus (13), redshirt junior Sierra Votaw (8), junior Jaron Dougherty (7) and redshirt junior Kiana Barkhoff (7) are setting the tone for the Bears, holding 4-of-the-top-6 spots in the SoCon in blocked shots.

Protect the Rock
Mercer has put an added emphasis on ball security lately, something that has been evident in its play on the court. The Bears have committed fewer than 10 turnovers in three of their last four games and lead the SoCon in turnover margin (+7.12), assist-turnover ratio (1.22) and fewest turnovers per game (13.4), ranking 16th, 37th and 38th in the nation, respectively. Additionally, the Bears have forced the 45th-most turnovers per game in the country at 20.5.

The trio of Shannon Titus (2.00), Jill Harris (1.72) and Amoria Neal-Tysor (1.47) hold the top-3 spots in the SoCon for assist-turnover ratio as they all have fewer than 20 giveaways on the season.

Bears Against the Colonial Athletic Association
Mercer has rarely played members of the Colonial Athletic Association, boasting a 10-9 all-time record against current CAA members. Of those 19 meetings, 16 have been played against the College of Charleston (8-8), with the Bears and Cougars splitting the series with eight wins apiece.

The Bears also own a pair of wins over Elon (2-0) while playing Towson (0-1) once.

Mercer has squared off against the CAA three times in the Susie Gardner era:
11/30/13 - Mercer 68, vs. Elon 56 (in Nashville, Tenn.)
12/21/14 - at College of Charleston 72, Mercer 59
12/30/15 - at Mercer 66, College of Charleston 58

Last Time Out
Mercer 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, 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.

Series History
This will be the first-ever meeting between Mercer and UNC Wilmington.

Scouting the Seahawks
UNC Wilmington will be playing just their fourth game in the month of December and has not played since Dec. 18 (L, 59-69 at Kennesaw State). The Seahawks, who had their game at Duke on Dec. 22 canceled, picked up a pair of victories over UNCG, 60-55, on Dec. 11 and South Carolina State, 69-56, on Dec. 7.

Overall, UNCW sports a 3-2 record.

The Seahawks were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the Preseason CAA Polls with senior forward Carol-Anne Obusek earning Preseason CAA Honorable Mention accolades.

UNCW has four players averaging double figures on the season with Obusek (14.8 ppg), Za'Nautica Downs (14.0 ppg), Camille Downs (12.0 ppg) and Mary McMillan (11.6 ppg). Obusek also leads the team in rebounding with 9.8 per game with Taylor Webster chipping in with 8.6 boards per game.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kiana Barkhoff

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Jada Lewis

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Shannon Titus

Sierra Votaw

Footer

Mercer University Athletics