Mercer University
19-7,10-3SoCon
South Carolina (First Round)
23-4,14-2SEC
Bears Championship Season Ends in San Antonio
3/21/2021 11:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mercer finished the 2020-21 at 19-7 and earned its third SoCon Tournament title
SAN ANTONIO – The Mercer women's basketball team saw its 2020-21 season come to a close in the NCAA Tournament as top-seeded South Carolina advanced with a 79-53 win at the Alamodome on Sunday evening.
The Bears won the turnover battle for the 25th time in 26 games this season, forcing the Gamecocks into 17 giveaways while recording nine steals in the game. Mercer capitalized on those opportunities as it scored 18 points off turnovers while scoring 18 points on the fast break.
Three Bears reached double figures in the contest, led by Amoria Neal-Tysor's team-high 15 points. She was joined by Jada Lewis and Shannon Titus, who scored 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Neal-Tysor recorded four steals in the game, matching USC's Destanni Henderson for the game high. Lewis was one of three players in the game with four assists, along with teammate Jill Harris, to go along with her team-high six rebounds. The Powder Springs, Ga., native was Mercer's most consistent offensive weapon, making 6-of-11 shots from the field and 2-of-5 attempts from beyond-the-arc. Titus added three steals and three assists in the game while also recording a block.
Mercer was unable to contain the #5/#6 team in the country on the glass as South Carolina out-rebounded the Bears 52-27, including 21 offensive boards. First Team All-American and Naismith Award finalist Aliyah Boston led the Gamecocks with a game-high 20 points along with 18 rebounds and nine offensive boards. Victaria Saxton matched Boston with 20 points in the game on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Bears locked down South Carolina's top-two offensive options in Zia Cooke and Henderson in the first half as the duo was held scoreless on a combined 0-of-4 shooting. Cooke managed to finish with 13 points, doing most of her damage at the free throw line as she was 4-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Additionally, Mercer's perimeter defense was stout this evening, limiting South Carolina to just 3-of-14 makes (21.4 pct.) from beyond-the-arc.
How It Happened
Mercer's defensive pressure made things difficult on South Carolina in the early going as the top-seeded team in the Hemisfair region missed its first three shots of the game. After opening the scoring 1:29 into the contest, the Bears' defense continued to force contested shots on the defensive end as the Gamecocks started the game just 2-of-7 from the field with a turnover and only two offensive rebounds. Mercer's offense also started the game in a rut, however, as the Bears were unable to get their shots to fall in the early going.
The Black and Orange hung around for the majority of the opening period until a 12-4 run by South Carolina, fueled by five points from Boston and four from Laeticia Amihere, sent the designated home team to an 11-point lead heading into the second quarter.
The Bears clawed their way back into the game at the start of the second quarter as a jumper in the paint by Lewis sparked a 6-0 burst to open the period. South Carolina missed a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession before fouling Titus who sank both of her free throws to cut the deficit down to seven, 23-16. After another USC miss and an offensive rebound, Neal-Tysor stole the ball and quickly dished it off to Lewis. Lewis and Titus created a 2-on-1 scenario for the Bears that resulted in a fast break layup for Titus as Mercer made it a two-possession game.
Sierra Votaw finished through contact to create an and-1 opportunity following a Saxton layup before the Gamecock forward knocked down a pair of free throws to keep things at a seven-point game. Lewis connected on her first trey of the contest with 6:04 remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to four, 27-23, and swung the momentum back in Mercer's favor. The Bears forced a pair of turnovers on back-to-back possessions with the second resulting in Neal-Tysor turning defense into offense by going coast-to-coast for a transition basket. South Carolina's bench was forced to call timeout to regroup with 4:37 remaining before the break. Mercer continued to apply pressure to the USC offense and forced a pair of misses before Kiana Barkhoff pounced on the rebound. The ball wound up in Harris' hands before she kicked it to Neal-Tysor who knocked down a transition jumper to the the game at 27-all and capped a 15-4 run by the Bears.
On USC's next trip down the court, Boston converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put her squad back in the lead. Neal-Tysor stayed hot and hit her next shot to bring Mercer within one, but the Gamecocks went on an 11-0 run and closed out the half outscoring the Bears 14-3 over the final two-and-a-half-minutes.
The Gamecocks were persistent in their rebounding and scoring efforts throughout the second half and maintained a double-digit advantage for the final 19:16 of the game.
Quotables – Head coach Susie Gardner
Opening statement…
"We had two objectives coming into this game versus South Carolina. The first one was to slow the ball down with Henderson in transition and not let them get easy transition layups, and I thought we did a pretty good job with that. Our second objective was to keep them off the offensive glass, which we did a really poor job with. That was the difference in the game."
On the opportunity to have an NCAA Tournament this year…
"A lot of credit goes to the all of the participants, the teams, the NCAA and San Antonio for hosting this event. It was our objective all year to stay safe and healthy, which we did. We have a great opportunity at Mercer to utilize Mercer Medicine for all of our testing, and I was really pleased with the way our players handled everything.
"In the fall when football talked about canceling their season, I wasn't sure if [our season/the NCAA Tournament] was going to happen or not. We're very fortunate that the NCAA Tournament is going on; not just for the players and the coaches, but also for the fans."
On the difference between second quarter and third quarter…
"I felt like it was the last four minutes of the second quarter when the momentum started to shift. We got it tied up there towards the end of the quarter, but we had some untimely turnovers that led to some transition baskets. We honestly did a great job on [Destanni] Henderson and [Zia] Cooke. They had zero points at halftime, and that was one of our objectives to keep those two players from scoring. But our other objective was defensive rebounding, and we just did not do a great job. Obviously, Boston is unlike any player we've seen this year. They just did an amazing job on the offensive glass. That's what hurt us. We weren't fundamentally boxing them out. Obviously they're bigger than us, but, at the same time, you have to fundamentally try to keep them off the glass. Their second chance really hurt us. I felt like we did a really good job defensively on their first shot, we just gave them too many second chances."
On taking Mercer from 8 wins last season to 19 wins this year…
"We had won four championships in a row before last year happened, so we know how to win. Last year was just one of those hiccups. It comes down to having the right people in your program, the right players, the right attitudes, the right chemistry, and we got that back. We slipped up last year, but, at the same time, we've won five championships in six years. That's the norm for Mercer; last year was not the norm. Our intention is to continue having that not be the norm. We know how to win. We know how to get to the NCAA Tournament, and the culture and chemistry of our program is what's important, and we righted that ship this year."
On what you learned about the team through all of the ups and downs this year…
"As it was happening, we approached things one day at a time. When I am able to take a breath and reflect on this season, and I've already told my team this, this will go down as one of my all-time favorite teams. I told them that even before we won the championship. They have been through so much, as has every other team, but character comes out in challenging times. And this was a challenging time. This team showed so much character and got along great. When I hear other coaches talk about their team's that had success, a lot of that success was because they have high-quality people in their programs. I told our team before the SoCon Tournament that this team would go down as one of my all-time favorite teams, even if we had not won. They are just solid people. They're a great group, and I'm so proud of them. They've touched my life for the rest of my life."
Redshirt senior guard Jada Lewis
On your experience at Mercer…
"Honestly, this has been the best year of my life playing college basketball, especially through the ups and downs. I really got to experience some of the highlights of what being a college athlete is all about. I'll never forget these moments for the rest of my life. From the head of the program all the way down, it was an amazing experience. I'm thankful to God that I was able to come here and reach the NCAA Tournament."
On the emotions of looking back on this year…
"I'm just sad, honestly. I'm sad that it's over. All of the girls on my team will be friends for life, and some of the girls will be my best friends for the rest of my life. My coaches - from Coach Gardner all the way down - I'm just going to miss them a lot and I love them a lot. Like Coach Gardner said, everybody here as touched my life for the rest of my life."
On what it means to play in the NCAA Tournament…
"It meant a lot to me. When I committed here, I didn't look at the record from last year because I knew this program is about winning. Sometimes you have a hiccup year, so last year didn't matter to me. To reach the NCAA Tournament after coming in and putting this thing together is really a blessing. Most people don't know this, but I've waited my whole career to play in the NCAA Tournament.
"To all the young people out there, just know that no individual award even comes close to the feeling of winning a championship and experiencing moments like this. I'm very thankful and blessed to be here, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
On the life lessons you've learned from this season…
"You can always do whatever you put your mind to. Life will throw ups and downs at you every single day, and you have to choose to either lay down or fight. I think if this year taught us anything, not just on the basketball court but in the real world as well, you get to choose to wake up every day and fight through it or you can lay down. That's what I learned about myself and this program. At the end of the day, we chose to get up and fight."
Assistant coach Ben Wierzba
Player of the Game
Jada Lewis' tenacity and determination was on full display under the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament as she finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Powder Springs, Ga., native shot a team-best 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field and 40.0 percent (2-of-5) from beyond-the-arc. Lewis reached double figures in scoring for the 75th time in her career and finished the season with a team-high 22 double-digit scoring performances. She ended her tenure with the Bears by matching her jersey number with a streak of 13 consecutive games with at least 10 or more points.
Notables
» Mercer competed in its third-consecutive NCAA Tournament.
» The Bears played South Carolina for the first time since 2006.
» Mercer finished above .500 for the eighth time in 11 seasons under the direction of head coach Susie Gardner.
» The Bears had one of the best turnarounds from last season in the NCAA as they improved their win total by 11 from eight to 19.
» Mercer finished the season with an 8-3 record when wearing its black jerseys.
» The Bears won the turnover battle in 25 of 26 games throughout the 2020-21 season.
» Mercer attempted a season-low three free throws in the game.
» At least three Bears scored in double figures for the 21st time this season.
» The Bears limited South Carolina to shooting 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from 3-point range, marking the 16th time this season a Mercer opponent has made 25 percent or less of its 3-pointers.
» Four of Mercer's seven losses this season have come against a team from either the SEC or ACC.
» Jada Lewis scored in double figures for the 75th time in her career and 22nd time in a Mercer uniform.
» This was the 13th consecutive game Lewis dropped at least 10 points.
» Lewis closes out her career with 1,390 points, the 56th-most points among active Division I players.
» Lewis' 86.6 free throw percentage (71-of-82) is the second-best single-season performance from the charity stripe in Mercer history.
» Lewis led the Bears in rebounding for the first time this season with her third game of at least six boards.
» Lewis knocked down multiple 3-pointers for the 16th time this season.
» Lewis eclipsed the 90 assist mark for the first time in her career, finishing with 91 on the season.
» Shannon Titus and Amoria Neal-Tysor reached double-digit points for the 17th time this season.
» Titus dropped at least 10 points in a game for the 62nd time in her career, while Neal-Tysor accomplished the feat for the 36th time.
» Titus finishes her career as the 17th-highest scorer in program history with 1,194 points.
» Titus also ranks third in program history with 151 career blocks and fourth in program history with 224 steals.
» Titus' 73 steals this season were the 11th-most in program history.
» Titus matched her personal best with 73 assists this season.
» Titus recorded at least three steals in a game for the 16th time this season.
» Titus competed in her 105th game while wearing a Bears uniform.
» Neal-Tysor set new single-season personal bests with 404 points, 156 made field goals, 55 made 3-pointers and 34 steals.
» Neal-Tysor recorded her 800th career point in the game.
» Neal-Tysor tied Sheryl Layman for 11th on Mercer's career 3-pointers list with 102 treys.
» Neal-Tysor finished the season shooting 37.9 percent (55-of-145) from 3-point range, the 10th-best single-season percentage in program history.
» Jaron Dougherty scored six points in the game to push her career point total to 955, moving within 45 of becoming the 28th member of Mercer's 1,000-point club.
» Dougherty closed out her junior campaign as Mercer's leading scorer with 412 points on the season.
» Harris dished out four or more assists for the 11th time this season.
» Harris tallied her fifth block of the year.
» Allie Thayne 11th game with at least three offensive rebounds this season.
» Thayne earned her 55th collegiate start and 16th with the Bears.
» Kiana Barkhoff recorded her 40th collegiate block and 25th as a member of the Bears.
» Sierra Votaw scored six points in the game, her second-highest total on the season.
» Votaw played in her 85th collegiate game.
» South Carolina's Dawn Staley earned her 500th career win.
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