Champions Once More: The 1990-91 Bears

MACON, Ga. – As part of its 50 Years of Mercer Basketball celebration, the women's basketball team is recognizing some of the all-time great teams to ever don the Orange and Black.

Throughout the 2020-21 season, Mercer women's basketball 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 returned to its winning ways in the 1990-91 season as the New Southern Women's Athletic Conference (NSWAC) regular season champions, the program's first conference title in nine years. The Bears went 18-9 on the season and posted a 10-2 record in conference play that included sweeping Miami, Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Stetson. The Bears were dominant in the Peach State as well, going 6-1 against in-state opponents.

The Bears started the season by winning four straight games and sat at 6-3 heading into conference play. Mercer won three of its first four NSWAC games with the lone setback coming against Florida A&M, 73-70. After a road loss to Florida International on Jan. 24 put the team's conference record at 3-2, a thrilling 86-83 overtime victory at Miami two days later gave the Bears the confidence needed to make a run through their remaining conference schedule. The win at Miami sparked a seven-game winning streak in conference play as the Orange and Black did not lose to another NSWAC team in the regular season.

Head Coach Lea Henry was named the NSWAC Coach of the Year that season in her first year at the helm of the program. She put together the best season of any first-year coach in program history with the help of her dynamic duo: Andrea Congreaves and Jaana Sintonen. Congreaves was named the conference's Player of the Year, while Sintonen garnered Newcomer of the Year honors. This marked the first season that Mercer had either the conference Player of the Year or Newcomer of the Year.

Congreaves came into her own during her sophomore campaign, leading the Bears offense with 662 points (24.5 ppg) while shooting 63.3 percent (281-of-444) from the field for the second-best single-season field goal percentage in program history.

The sharp-shooting Gloria Richardson set the program record by 41.5 percent (34-of-82) from 3-point range, a mark that is currently the third-best single season average in team history. Stephany Raines ran point for the Bears and dished out 212 assists which was the third-most in Mercer's single season history at the time.

1990-91 Roster
#3 Andrea Congreaves
#11 Elizabeth Welsh
#12 Kristi Dixon
#13 Cheryl Jones
#24 Jaana Sintonen
#33 Tonya Whiddon
#40 Donna Braswell
#43 Stephany Raines
#45 Gloria Richardson
#52 Chiquita Anderson

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