Milestone Win

Friday, November 26

Mobile, AL

Noon ET

Mercer University

4-3,0-0SoCon

South Alabama

3-3,0-0Sun Belt

Mercer

South Alabama

11/26/2021 3:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Bears best South Alabama for Gardner's 200th at MU

MOBILE, Ala. – Behind four scoring in double figues and Shannon Titus' double-double, Mercer dispatched South Alabama as Coach Susie Gardner won her 200^th game as the Bears' head coach.

How it Happened
The Bears (4-3) jumped out of the gates with a quick 4-0 lead following the tip until the host Jaguars (3-3) countered the Mercer momentum with a 7-0 run of their own to what-was their biggest (and only) lead of the contest. Four consecutive points by Endia Banks put Mercer up and up for good. The graduate transfer from Duluth, Georgia led the Bears with 21 points, which just two shy of her career best of 23.

A seven-point run in the second quarter gave Mercer an edge going into the third frame. Banks contributed four and Amoria Neal-Tysor added three in the scoring spurt.

For the second time in two games, Mercer used a strong third quarter to separate themselves from the opponent for the win, this time using a 20-point third to put away South Alabama.

In the final frame, Mercer forced South Alabama into five turnovers over the last four-plus minutes while claiming 14 of the 23 points scored to secure the 14-point win on the road.

Shannon Titus put up 11 points and 11 boards for her third double-double of the season, and first since the Troy game on November 15. In addition to Banks and Titus, Neal-Tysor scored 16 and Jaron Dougherty tallied 12 and collected seven rebounds.

Mercer held the 44-40 edge in rebounds and scored 34 points in the paint to South Alabama's 20.

Quotables – Head Coach Susie Gardner
Thoughts on the depth of the team with four in double figures
"We were really poor offensively versus Alabama, so I'm really pleased that we had a lot more production offensively and to have four players in double figures shows that we're making progress and that we don't have to rely on just a couple of people. I felt like our defense was really good minus the threes that we gave up and other than that we've been working on things in practice that we've made progress on. The goal is to get better each day, to have games that show us some of our faults and then improve upon them, and that's what we did in this game."

On Shannon Titus' third double-double in seven games
"We've traditionally not been a great rebounding team throughout the years and we've challenged our team to do a better job on the glass and Shannon has tremendous length and is a great jumper. What's good about her is she's getting offensive and defensive rebounds. She's not just limited to the defensive end, she's really helping us on both ends of the floor. Shannon does a lot of things that go unnoticed statistically, but this is one that she's really focused on this year."
What to build upon for the Kennesaw State game from the four-game road trip
"Each game posed a different challenge and a different thing for us to improve upon. We've played a very difficult nonconference schedule thus far with more tough games to come. I'm really proud of our players for having limited practice time, but yet watching film, listening to their coaches and really being intentional in making adjustments and improving. That's all you can ask for."

Notables
• The win was Coach Gardner's 200^th leading the Bears
• Shannon Titus tallied her third double-double
• This capped off a four-game road trip, which was the longest of the regular season

Up Next
Mercer will welcome Kennesaw State for a Monday night matchup on November 29. Tip off versus the Owls is set for 7 p.m. and can be heard on 100.9 The Creek and on the Mercer Sports Network in addition to the ESPN+ broadcast.

Follow the Bears:
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