Neal-Tysor Drops 30 as Mercer Sweeps UNCG

Saturday, January 16

Greensboro, N.C.

2 P.M.

Mercer University

8-4,2-1SoCon

UNC Greensboro

2-10,0-3SoCon

Mercer

UNC Greensboro

Photo by: Stephen Waldman

1/16/2021 5:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Amoria Neal-Tysor recorded her second 30-point game of the season as Mercer moved to 2-1 in SoCon play

By: Stephen Waldman

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Amoria Neal-Tysor dropped 30 points as Mercer women's basketball captured a 73-58 victory over UNCG on Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gymnasium.

The Bears improved to 8-4 on the season and 2-1 in SoCon play following their weekend sweep in Greensboro. Neal-Tysor paced the Bears for the second consecutive game with 30 points, going a personal-best 13-of-18 from the field and 4-of-7 makes from beyond-the-arc. She was joined by Jada Lewis (14 pts.), Jaron Dougherty (11 pts.) and Shannon Titus (10 pts.) in double figures. Dougherty added 10 rebounds for her second-straight double-double and fifth overall on the season.

As a team, Mercer shot an impressive 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the field, including making 6-of-14 shots from 3-point range. The Black and Orange won the turnover battle, 20-9, and made UNCG pay for their mistakes by scoring 25 points off turnovers. On the defensive end of the floor, the Bears held UNCG to 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the field and 25.0 percent (3-of-12) from long range.

How It Happened
Neal-Tysor got the ball rolling for the Bears by scoring the team's first 12 points of the game, including a 10-0 run by herself to give Mercer a 12-4 advantage with under three minutes to play in the first quarter. She sparked a 23-4 run by the visitors that saw Mercer hold a 17-point lead at 25-8 with 8:02 remaining in the first half.

Mercer learned from its experience two days ago and resisted UNCG's comeback attempt today, holding the Spartans at arm's length for the remainder of the game. The two teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the second quarter as Mercer led 41-24 at the break.

Despite UNCG's best effort to get back into the game, the Bears found a way to answer either with a defensive stop or a basket on the other end of the court as they cruised to their second win over UNCG in three days.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
On Amoria's offensive effort…
"Amoria [Neal-Tysor] had another amazing scoring game today. I'm really proud of the way she played. She doesn't live too far from here, so it was nice for her family to be able to see her play.

"I also thought that Shannon [Titus] was a big difference in our game today. She stayed out of foul trouble and played exceptionally well defensively."

On the team's performance…
"I'm really proud of our first half. I thought we played really well both offensively and defensively. It was interesting to play the same team back-to-back. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but I'm really proud of our players."

On returning to Hawkins Arena on Thursday…
"It's always good to play at home. This team is really close and gets along great, so it's fun to be on the road. Conference games are always hard whether you're home or away. It will definitely be nice to be back home though. I'm looking forward to playing in front of our fans who haven't seen us in a month."

Player of the Game
Amoria Neal-Tysor set the tone for the Bears' offense once again as she dropped 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field. The Sanford, N.C., native finished 4-of-7 from long range and added two rebounds, two steals and an assist. Neal-Tysor kick-started Mercer as she scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half. With today's 30 points, she eclipsed 600 points for her career and 200 in her junior campaign.

Notables
» Mercer moved to 5-2 in road games on the season.
» The Bears improved to 7-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
» Mercer shot better than 50 percent from the field (51.6 pct.) for the second time this season.
» The Bears' nine turnovers marked the fourth time they had less than 10 giveaways in a game this year.
» Amoria Neal-Tysor recorded her second 30-point game of the season, having scored a career-high 33 points at UAB on Dec. 10.
» Neal-Tysor, a Sanford, N.C., native, has scored at least 20 points in all three games played in her home state during the 2020-21 season.
» Neal-Tysor produced her team-leading sixth 20-point performance of the year.
» Jaron Dougherty tallied her fifth double-double of the season.
» Dougherty extended her streak of consecutive games with double figure points to 11.
» Jada Lewis suited up for her 100^th career game this afternoon.
» Lewis posted her ninth game with 10+ points for the Bears and 62^nd of her career.
» Shannon Titus earned her sixth game in double figures.

Up Next
The Bears return to Hawkins Arena for the first time since Dec. 15 as they host Furman for a weekend series on Jan. 21 and 23. Both games 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.