Bears Set for Weekend Series at UNCG

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team wraps up its five-game road trip with a weekend series at UNCG on Thursday and Saturday. The games are slated to tip-off at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (6-4, 0-1 SoCon) at UNCG (2-8, 0-1 SoCon)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Fleming Gymnasium
Live Stats: uncgspartans.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Paul Roper
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG

Date: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (7-4, 1-1 SoCon) at UNCG (2-9, 0-2 SoCon)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Fleming Gymnasium
Live Stats: uncgspartans.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Paul Roper
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG

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.

Dougherty Named SoCon Player of the Month
Junior Jaron Dougherty earned SoCon Player of the Month honors in December for the first time in her career. She averaged 18.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game throughout the final month of 2020, shooting 46.6 percent (54-of-116) from the field. The Buford, Ga., native recorded at least 15 points and eight rebounds in six of Mercer's seven games in December with three 20-point performances and two double-doubles. Dougherty put together her first double-double of December against Covenant (11 pts./11 reb.) and followed that with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance against Alabama later in the month.

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 967 points throughout her career in the Orange and Black, putting her 33 points shy of reaching the milestone.

Packing a Punch
Juniors Jaron Dougherty (182 pts./18.2 ppg) and Amoria Neal-Tysor (160 pts./16.0 ppg) have provided a hard-hitting 1-2 punch for the Bears on the offensive end of the floor, holding the top-two spots in the SoCon for both total points and points per game.

The duo has combined for more than 34 points per game and is one of 18 pairs of teammates with at least 160 points scored.

The Buck Stops Here
Titus has been a premier defender for the Bears throughout the 2020-21 season after earning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior. The Johns Creek, Ga., native leads the conference and ranks 12th nationally with 29 steals, while her 20 blocks are the most in the SoCon and 29th in Division I. She is only one of two players in the country with at least 25 steals and 20 blocks.

This is nothing new for Titus has she ranks third in Mercer history for career blocks (130) and ninth in career steals (179). Titus is the only player to appear in both top-10 lists.

Last Time Out
Mercer dropped its conference opener in a 78-69 setback at Samford on Saturday afternoon from the Pete Hanna Center.

The loss was Mercer's first since Dec. 13.

The Bears were out-rebounded in the game, 45-31, including an 18-17 deficit in their defensive end of the floor. Samford used those 18 offensive rebounds to score 17 second chance points, while also converting 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) free throw attempts. Mercer, who shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from 3-point range, finished at 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free throw line.

Mercer was led offensively by the trio of Jaron Dougherty (27 pts./5 reb.), Jada Lewis (18 pts./4 ast.) and Amoria Neal-Tysor (13 pts./5 reb./3 ast.) who all reached double figures. The trio combined to make 7-of-17 shots (41.2 percent) from beyond-the-arc, including Lewis draining a season-high four long-range attempts. Shannon Titus chipped in with team highs in rebounds (7), assists (4), blocks (4) and steals (3) while finishing with eight points.

Samford's Annie Ramil put up a double-double with 28 points and 15 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor. Andrea Cournoyer also played well for the home side, recording 16 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Series History
The Bears are 12-3 all-time against UNCG dating back to the 1978-79 season. Mercer won the first 12 meetings against the Spartans prior to last season when they swept all three meetings between the two sides.

The most recent meeting came in the SoCon Semifinals last season when an off-balance, overtime buzzer-beater by SoCon Player of the Year Nadine Soliman gave UNCG the 75-73 win and sent the Spartans to the conference championship game to face Samford. Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty led the Bears with 24 points apiece in the game with Titus tallying eight rebounds and Dougherty collecting six boards.

Scouting the Spartans
UNCG enters Thursday's matchup with a 2-8 record after dropping its SoCon opener to Western Carolina, 49-42. While the Spartans are the only team in the conference allowing fewer points per game than Mercer (56.9 opp. ppg), they are the fifth-worst scoring offense in the nation averaging just 46.5 points per game. UNCG has scored 50 or more points in three games this season, most recently in a season-high 69-37 win over Converse College on Jan. 3.

UNCG is led by CeCe Crudup who is averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Khalis Cain is the squad's leading rebounder, pulling down 5.5 boards per game, while Tori Powell's 23 assists and 14 steals are the most on the team. Powell is also the Spartans' deep threat, converting on 15-of-51 (29.4 pct.) of her 3-point attempts.

The Spartans are missing a key piece to their lineup as redshirt senior Aja Boyd has yet to make an appearance in the 2020-21 season. Last season, Boyd averaged 11.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while leading the team with 40 blocks and a 55.7 field goal percentage (132-of-237).

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.

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Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Jada Lewis

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Shannon Titus

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