Mercer Poised for Matchup at UAB

Thursday, December 10

Birmingham, Ala.

7 p.m. (ET)

Mercer University

UAB

Photo by: Stephen Waldman

12/9/2020 4:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Thursday will be Mercer’s first game against UAB since Dec. 20, 1998

By: Stephen Waldman

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team heads to Birmingham, Ala., to face the UAB Blazers at Bartow Arena on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. (ET).

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (2-2) at UAB (2-0)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
Live Stats: uabsports.com/livestats
TV: C-USA TV
TV Talent: Curt Bloom
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UAB

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 897 points throughout her career in the Orange and Black, putting her 103 points shy of reaching the milestone.

Sharing is Caring
The Bears' offense has been distributing the ball effectively throughout the early going in the 2020- 21 slate, dishing out the 29th-most assists nationally with 66. Jill Harris (14), Amoria Neal-Tysor (14) and Jada Lewis (13) have been distributing the ball at a high level for Mercer, combining for 41 of those 66 assists.
The trio of Harris, Neal-Tysor and Lewis is one of just nine in the country to have at least 13 assists on the same team. North Carolina has the most players with 13+ assists at four, while Duke, Oregon State, Providence, Stephen F. Austin, Villanova, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have three players each. Only Duke, Mercer, Oregon State, Villanova and West Virginia have done so while playing fewer than five games thus far.

Graduate Transfers Putting in Work
Redshirt seniors Jada Lewis and Naomi Van Nes have been welcomed additions to the Bears' squad for the 2020-21 season after being added as graduate transfers.

Lewis has lived up to her reputation as a scorer as she has reached double figures in each of Mercer's first three games, including a season-high 23 at Clemson on Dec. 2. The Powder Springs, Ga., native leads the SoCon in steals (9) which is the 46th-most in the country. Additionally, she ranks second in steals per game (2.3), third in total points (55), 3-pointers made (7) and free throw percentage (.769) and fourth in assists (13).

Van Nes has provided both value and depth in the post for Mercer, ranking third in rebounding (5.0 rpg) and fourth in blocks (3). The Dorchester, England native posted a career day against Covenant on Saturday, scoring a career-high nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and matched her personal best of seven rebounds.

Sharp Shooters
Mercer has made a vast improvement to its play from behind the 3-point line to start the 2020-21 campaign as the team is shooting 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from long range. The Bears have moved from 346th to 108th nationally in 3-pointers made, 344th to 132nd in 3-point percentage, 347th to 177th in 3-pointers per game and 259th to 63rd in 3-point defense.

Record Day at Hawkins Arena
The Bears put together one of the team's best games in Hawkins Arena since it opened in 2004 on Saturday, defeating Covenant 78-25. The 53-point differential tied the 86-33 win over Faulkner on Dec. 13, 2015 for the largest Mercer win in Hawkins Arena.

Mercer's 25 points allowed to Covenant was the fewest in the venue's history and in the Susie Gardner era, surpassing the old low of 31 set by Lipscomb on Feb. 25, 2013. It was the seventh-fewest points allowed in the program's history and fewest since Jan. 12, 1973 (21 against Dekalb- Central). Last game was also the 18th time in program history that Mercer held an opponent to 30 or fewer points in a game.

The Bears' defense held Covenant to just two points in the second half for just the second time since the NCAA switched from halves to quarters in 2015-16 (4th quarter vs. Howard, Dec. 21, 2017). Mercer also held the Scots to 11 points in the second half, its best defensive effort since holding Western Carolina to 10 in the first half of the SoCon Quarterfinals on March 7, 2019.

Last Time Out
Mercer was clicking on all cylinders as it defeated Covenant 78-25 on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena. Mercer's defense limited the Scots to 9-of- 53 (17.0 percent) from the floor, including just 2-of- 13 (15.4 percent) on 3-point attempts.

Individually, Shannon Titus led all scorers with 16 points on an efficient 8-of-9 night from the field, in addition to pulling down six rebounds, and creating a game-high four steals. Jaron Dougherty posted her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, going 5-of-10 from the floor. Sierra Votaw added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting for her first game in double figures for the Bears. Allie Thayne contributed five points, three rebounds and two blocks. Naomi Van Nes scored a career-high nine points and seven rebounds.

Series History
Thursday's matchup will be the first meeting between the Bears and Blazers since Dec. 20, 1998. Mercer won three of the first four meetings, but UAB is on a three-game winning streak. Mercer's last win against UAB came on Jan. 30, 1985 with a 93-74 victory at the Macon Coliseum.

It has been 8,026 days (263 months) since the Bears last played UAB and 13,098 days (430 months) since Mercer's last win over the Blazers.

Breaking Down the Blazers
UAB is off to a 2-0 start to the season after defeating Edward Waters (80-57) and Chattanooga (78-58). The Blazers, who were picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the Conference USA Preseason Poll, are led by Margaret Whitley who is averaging 28.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. She is shooting a team-best 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field, 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from beyond-the-arc and 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the charity stripe.

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.