Mercer, Samford to Clash for Regular Season Title

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team closes out its regular season slate by hosting Samford for the Southern Conference regular season title on Thursday before its finale at ETSU on Saturday.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (15-5, 9-2 SoCon) vs. Samford (13-8, 10-2 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Tickets: bit.ly/2WlQqLt
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Avery Braxton and Sybil Blalock
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Samford
Hawkins Arena Protocols: Click Here
Promotion: $1 Tickets

Date: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 | 12 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (15-5, 9-2 SoCon) at ETSU (3-13, 1-8 SoCon)
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Brooks Gym
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Ben Murray and Sybil Blalock
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | ETSU

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.

Battle Between the SoCon's Best
Mercer and Samford, the top-2 teams in Southern Conference women's basketball, will duke it out on Thursday for the top seed at the conference tournament and at least a share of the regular season title. With a win, Mercer will claim at least a share of the regular season crown with the chance to win it outright against ETSU.

100 Years of SoCon
One of the oldest conferences in college athletics, the Southern Conference will celebrate a century of athletic and academic achievement in 2021 with a variety of initiatives throughout the year.

The Southern Conference traces its beginnings to Feb. 25, 1921, when delegates from 15 of the 30 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association institutions met at the Piedmont Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., to finalize plans for a new conference. Alabama, Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn), Clemson, Georgia, Georgia School of Technology (Georgia Tech), Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi A&M (Mississippi State), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) and Washington & Lee all signed on to form the Southern Intercollegiate Conference, while Tulane attended the meetings but would not join until the following year. The league has had 44 full-time members over its illustrious history.

Pair of Bears with 1,000 Points
Redshirt senior Jada Lewis (1,299 pts.) and senior Shannon Titus (1,127 pts.) are two of the 179 active players in Division I to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone in their careers.

Mercer is one of 37 schools in the nation with multiple 1,000-point scorers on its team. Arizona, Arkansas, DePaul, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Ohio, Syracuse and Tennessee Tech and Texas A&M all have three 1,000-point scorers on their current rosters, while Air Force, Alabama, Baylor, Bradley, Clemson, East Carolina, Fresno State, Furman, Indiana, Iowa State, Liberty, Maine, Mercer, N.C. State, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pacific, Saint Peter's, South Alabama, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Texas Tech, Tulane, VCU, Virginia Tech and Youngstown State each have two active players with 1,000 points.

Top Defensive Performances of 2020-21
The Bears put together one of the best defensive performances in Division I basketball this season when they held the South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs to 27 points in a 77-27 win on Dec. 15. It was the sixth-fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent this season and only one of 11 times this season a D1 team scored under 30 points in a game.

Mercer held Wofford to 47 points on Friday for its sixth game allowing fewer than 50 points this season. The other four games were on Dec. 5 (78-25 vs. Covenant), Dec. 15 (77-27 vs. S.C. State), Jan. 14 (53-43 at UNCG), Jan. 28 (50-52 vs. Chattanooga) and Feb. 6 (71-47 at Western Carolina).

Pts. (Score)        School-Opponent                                  Date
21 (21-51)           Monmouth at Fairfield                              2/20/21
23 (23-79)           UMass Lowell at #3 UConn 12/12/20
24 (24-117)         McNeese at #7 Baylor                             12/19/20
26 (26-71)           Samford at #13 Indiana 12/3/20
26 (26-112)         NW State at #9 Texas A&M 12/28/20
27 (27-77)          S.C. State at Mercer 12/15/20
27 (27-63)           George Mason at Rhode Island 2/5/21
28 (28-98)           S.C. State at #RV North Carolina 12/3/20
28 (28-87)           NW State vs. Stephen F. Austin 1/20/21
29 (29-88)           New Orleans at Stephen F. Austin 1/2/21
30 (30-99)           Sacred Heart at Rutgers 12/20/20

War of Attrition
Mercer and Wofford battled through an instant-classic double-overtime contest on Sunday with the Bears capturing the 83-74 victory on Diploma Day. In addition to pushing Mercer to a perfect 4-0 in overtime games, it was also the Bears' first game that went to double overtime since an 80-75 victory at Saint Louis on Nov. 28, 2014.

In the game, junior forward Jaron Dougherty played a career-high 48 minutes.

Last Time Out
A resilient Mercer squad found a way to capture an exhilarating 83-74 double-overtime victory over Wofford on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Arena on Diploma Day.

Following the game, Mercer recognized Jada Lewis, Naomi Van Nes, Sierra Votaw, Kiana Barkhoff, Emily Stradling and Shannon Titus who are all set to graduate this spring with a Diploma Day ceremony.

The Bears remained perfect in overtime games this season, improving to 4-0 after playing in their first double-overtime contest since Nov. 28, 2014. In that game, Mercer outlasted Saint Louis, 80-75.

Titus led all scorers for the second straight game in a balanced performance that saw her record 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Lewis was a vital member of the Bears' offense in the game, finishing with 26 points and made 4-of-9 threes. Lewis nearly recorded a triple double as she added eight assists and eight rebounds, along with two steals. Jaron Dougherty tallied her team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds while generating two steals, a block and an assist.

Jill Harris was once again the floor general for the Bears in the game, finishing with five assists. Allie Thayne crashed the boards hard all game and came up with a season-high 11 rebounds that included a game-high six on the offensive glass.

Series History
The Bears boast an all-time record of 19-8 against Samford, dating back to their first meeting in 1998. Mercer won the first three games in the series before Samford earned five wins in a row.

Mercer proceeded to win the next 16 consecutive meetings leading up to last season, its second-longest winning streak against a single opponent in program history.

The Bulldogs halted their losing skid with a 72-64 win at home on Jan. 18 before a 60-54 win in Macon on Feb. 15. Samford won the first meeting between the two teams this season in the SoCon opener on Jan. 9, 78-69. Jaron Dougherty (27 pts.), Jada Lewis (18 pts.) and Amoria Neal-Tysor (13 pts.) all scored in double figures to lead the Bears, while Annie Ramil (28 pts./15 reb.) and Andrea Cournoyer (16 pts.) paced the Bulldogs.

Both teams have experienced a great deal of success in recent history as Mercer (2018 & '19) and Samford (2020) have won the last three Southern Conference Tournament championships.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Samford enters Thursday's matchup with Mercer having won six of its last seven games. Junior transfers Andrea Cournoyer and Annie Ramil have provided a spark for the Bulldogs this season. Cournoyer, who transferred from Loyisiana-Lafayette, currently leads the SoCon in scoring (18.4 ppg), free throw percentage (.882), steals per game (2.9) and 3-pointers made per game (2.2) while scoring in double figures in 15 of 18 games. Ramil, the Binghamton transfer, has produced a team-high six double-doubles and is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds.

The Bulldogs are 13-8 on the season and 10-2 in Southern Conference play. While Samford is 9-1 at the Pete Hanna Center, it is just 4-7 on the road this season.

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.

Mercer, Samford to Clash for Regular Season Title

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Players Mentioned

Kiana Barkhoff

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Jada Lewis

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Emily Stradling

Allie Thayne

Shannon Titus

Naomi Van Nes

Sierra Votaw

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