Bears Close Out Regular Season with Win at ETSU

Saturday, February 27

Johnson City, Tenn.

12 P.M.

Mercer University

16-6,10-3SoCon

ETSU

3-15,1-10SoCon

Mercer

ETSU

Photo by: Dakota Hamilton

Bears Close Out Regular Season with Win at ETSU

2/27/2021 10:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Amoria Neal-Tysor scored 25 points for the fourth time this season

By: Stephen Waldman

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Mercer women's basketball team wrapped up its regular season slate with a 76-73 victory at ETSU on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Gym.

Mercer's big four came up big again today, led by junior Amoria Neal-Tysor who led all players with 25 points in the game. Senior Shannon Titus (18 pts.), redshirt senior Jada Lewis (14 pts.) and junior Jaron Dougherty (12 pts.) all scored in double figures for just the fourth game this season with four or more Bears scoring at least 10 points. Titus added five steals, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the ame, while Lewis dished out a game-high five assists. Sophomore Jill Harris followed closely behind with four assists to go along with her three rebounds and two steals. Junior Allie Thayne collected a team-high nine rebounds in the contest, including seven offensive boards.

As a team, the Bears shot 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field while making 4-of-13 shots (30.8 pct.) from 3-point range. Mercer had its transition game working today as it scored 29 points off turnovers. The Orange and Black won the turnover battle, 21-9, while generating 11 steals.

ETSU out-rebounded Mercer, 46-36, with both teams posting 18 offensive rebounds. The Mocs received a strong contribution from their bench with 36 points coming from non-starters. Jakhyia Davis was ETSU's top weapon in the game as she set team highs in points (12), rebounds (14), field goals (5), minutes (30) and blocks (3).

How It Happened
After ETSU used a 10-2 run to take a 15-10 lead, the Bears responded by scoring six unanswered points in 65 seconds to take a one-point lead. Dougherty scored the first bucket with a layup with 4:58 left in the first quarter before Neal-Tysor hit shots on back-to-back possessions. Neal-Tysor finished the opening period on a high note as she knocked down a pair of treys to put the Bears up, 22-19, after the first quarter.

The visitors gradually increased their lead throughout the second period and headed into the break with a 44-36 advantage. A Dougherty jumper just under two minutes into the third quarter pushed the Bears' lead into double-digits. Mercer kept its lead in double digits for the remainder of the frame, with the exception of a 15-second stint where ETSU cut its deficit to nine, and carried an 11-point edge into the final 10 minutes.

ETSU fought back into the game by scoring 13 of the first 16 points of the fourth quarter to cut Mercer's lead to one at 67-66. A jumper by Dougherty stretched the lead to 69-66 before a pair of baskets by the home team gave the Mocs their first lead since the 1:45 mark of the first quarter when they were up, 19-16. Thayne gathered an offensive rebound and was fouled with under two minutes to go, knocking down both shots from the charity stripe to put the Bears back on top, 71-70.

After going back-and-forth, ETSU's Carly Hooks hit 1-of-2 free throws to take a 73-72 lead. Lewis answered with a layup to reinstate the one-point advantage for the Bears before Dougherty came up with a timely steal with 18 seconds left and forced the Mocs to foul. Titus came in clutch and knocked down both of her free throws to give Mercer a 76-73 edge with 15 seconds to go. After an ETSU timeout, the home team worked the ball to Hooks who put up the potential game-tying shot with four seconds remaining, but Titus was there for the denial and gathered the rebound to secure the victory for the Bears.

Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
On today's game…
"Once again, we found a way to win a close game. We had several people step up at the end of the game, and we also have got to be prepared to go to Asheville. I think overall, we didn't shoot the ball great as a team even though we had four players in double figures. For us, we always try to make sure our defense shows up, and I thought we did a good job defensively. I'm really proud of the way we bounced back after an emotional game on Thursday, and we're excited to start the tournament."

Player of the Game
Junior Amoria Neal-Tysor carried over her offensive success from Thursday into today's game as she scored a game-high 25 points. The Sanford, N.C., native finished 10-of-25 from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond-the-arc while dishing out two assists.

Notables
» Mercer picked up its 16th win of the season, doubling its total from last season.
» The Bears earned their first win over ETSU since Feb. 21, 2019, snapping a two-game losing skid.
» Mercer dropped its first Thursday game of the season.
» The Bears finished the regular season winning the turnover battle in 21 of 22 games.
» Mercer improved to 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points this season.
» Mercer had four players reach double figures for the fourth game this year.
» Neal-Tysor scored at least 25 points for the fourth time this season.
» Neal-Tysor knocked down at least four 3-pointers for the sixth time this year.
» Neal-Tysor recorded the 700th point of her career in her 80th game with the Bears.
» Neal-Tysor scored at least 25 points for the fourth time this season.
» Neal-Tysor tallied her eighth 20-point performance of the year, tying Dougherty for the team lead.
» Kiana Barkhoff recorded her 10th block of the season as she reached double figures for the third season.
» Lewis dished out her 80th assist of the season, matching her personal best total from the 2018-19 season at Georgia State.
» Sierra Votaw tallied the 100th block of her collegiate career, including 38 at Mercer.
» Titus moved past Stephany Raines for 17th place on Mercer's all-time scoring list and now has 1,159 career points.
» Titus generated five steals for the fourth time this season.
» Titus reached double figures for the 15th time this season and 60th time in her career.
» Dougherty matched her season high with three steals in the game.
» Thayne equaled her season high with seven offensive rebounds.

Up Next
With the regular season wrapped up, the Bears enter the 2021 Southern Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face Western Carolina in the opening round on Thursday at Harrah's Cherokee Center. The Bears and Catamounts will play in the third quarterfinal of the day with opening tipoff slated for 5 p.m. The game 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.