Bears Set to Battle No. 6 Furman in SoCon Semifinals

Friday, March 5

Asheville, N.C.

2:15 p.m.

Mercer University

Furman (Semifinals)

Photo by: Titouan Le Roux

Bears Set to Battle No. 6 Furman in SoCon Semifinals

3/5/2021 2:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Mercer and Furman will fight for a spot in the SoCon Championship game at 2:15 p.m.

By: Stephen Waldman

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer women's basketball team will battle No. 6 Furman in the 2021 Southern Conference Tournament in the semifinals on Friday at 2:15 p.m. at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Friday, March 5, 2021 | 2:15 p.m.
Teams: #2 Mercer (17-6, 10-3 SoCon) vs. #6 Furman (11-13, 6-8 SoCon)
Location: Asheville, N.C. | Harrah's Cherokee Center
Live Stats: SoConSports.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Pete Yanity, Robin Muller and Erin Summers
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Furman

Four Bears Earn SoCon Postseason Honors
Senior Shannon Titus, redshirt senior Jada Lewis and juniors Jaron Dougherty and Amoria Neal-Tysor were named to the Southern Conference's postseason all-conference teams. Titus, the two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, and Dougherty earned first team honors from both the coaches and media, while Lewis collected a second team nod from the coaches and third team accolades from the media. Neal-Tysor garnered second team honors from the media.

Titus produced on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 13.7 points per game to rank sixth in the conference in scoring while shooting 41.8 percent (119-of-285) from the field. She also dished out 56 assists, the third-most on the team.

Dougherty improved upon an impressive sophomore campaign as she led the Bears with 16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Her 16.2 points per game was the third-best mark in the SoCon. The Buford, Ga., native led the conference in field goals made (148) while ranking second with eight double-doubles, 356 total points, 209 total rebounds and 9.5 rebounds per game. She reached double figures in 17 games this season while posting a conference-leading eight 20-point performances.

Lewis played a vital role in Mercer's success in her first season in Macon. The Powder Springs, Ga., native averaged 14.0 points and 3.6 assists per game to rank fifth and third in the SoCon, respectively. Lewis had one of her most productive collegiate seasons in her first with the Bears, scoring at the second-highest rate of her career. She also had the second-best long-range shooting season of her career, making 39-of-118 (33.1 pct.) shots from beyond-the-arc. Additionally, her 80 assists matched her single-season personal best from 2018-19 and her 2.05 assist-turnover ratio is by far the best in her career. Lewis posted a team-high 18 games in double figures while going for at least 20 points four times.

Neal-Tysor had a breakout junior campaign, averaging the fourth-most points in the conference at 15.6 per game. The Sanford, N.C., native dished out 43 assists on the year while shooting a team-best 38.1 percent (43-of-113) from 3-point range. She posted career highs in 3-pointers made (39), field goal percentage (43.0 pct.) and scoring average while totaling 13 double-digit scoring performances. Neal-Tysor added eight 20-point performances as a junior, including the first two 30-point games of her career against UAB (33 pts.) and UNCG (30 pts.).

Top Stopper in the SoCon
Senior Shannon Titus became first Mercer Bear in program history to be named the league's top defender in back-to-back years. She is the fourth player in SoCon history to accomplish that feat, along with Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius (2011 & '12), Chattanooga's Alicia Payne (2014 & '15) and ETSU's Erica Haynes-Overton (2018 & '19).

On top of drawing the opponent's top scoring threat on a nightly basis, Titus continually put up solid numbers on the defensive end of the floor. The Johns Creek, Ga., native's 64 steals were tops in the SoCon while ranking sixth nationally. She also added 33 blocks while racking up 164 rebounds (7.5 rpg). For her career, Titus is the only active player in Division I women's hoops with at least 200 steals (214) and at least 125 blocks (143).

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.

Flipping the Script
After an uncharacteristic 8-23 season last year, Mercer has more than doubled its win total for the 2020-21 season and owns an overall mark of 17-6. After being the 7-seed last season, the Bears are the 2-seed in this year's tournament.

Core Four
Mercer has one of the most dynamic offenses in the Southern Conference with four of the top six scorers in the league. Juniors Jaron Dougherty (16.1 ppg) and Amoria Neal-Tysor (16.1 ppg) rank third in the conference in scoring, while redshirt senior Jada Lewis (14.4 ppg) owns the fifth-best scoring average in the conference. Senior Shannon Titus (13.3 ppg) ranks sixth in the SoCon in scoring average.

SoCon Tournament History
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2014-15, Mercer owns a 13-4 record at the SoCon Tournament. This is the second time the Bears are the No. 2 seed and first since the 2016-17 season. Here is how Mercer has fared in the tournament...

as the No. 2 seed: 3-1
vs. No. 6 seed: 3-0
in the semifinals: 4-2
vs. Furman: 2-0

Home Sweet Home
Junior Amoria Neal-Tysor has enjoyed playing in her home state of North Carolina this season. The Sanford, N.C., native has averaged 25.8 points per game in her four games in the Tar Heel State this season, including scoring at least 20 points in each contest. She scored 30 points on a personal-best 13-of-18 shooting in the second game against UNCG on Jan. 16. She has posted a 50.0 field goal percentage (41-of-82) in those games, including 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from 3-point range.

Last Time Out
Mercer is headed to the Southern Conference semifinals after defeating No. 7 Western Carolina, 76-67, in the SoCon quarterfinals at the Harrah's Cherokee Center on Thursday evening.

The Bears led for more than 38 of the 40 minutes in the game thanks to a fast start by junior Amoria Neal-Tysor who scored five points in the first five minutes of the game. Neal-Tysor finished with a game-high 27 points with six rebounds and four 3-pointers. Redshirt senior Jada Lewis added 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and was perfect on all three of her shots from beyond-the-arc. She added a 9-of-11 outing from the free throw line. Junior Jaron Dougherty compiled her ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, including a team-high five offensive boards. Senior Shannon Titus led the Bears with five assists and two blocks while gathering five rebounds.

Mercer shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field as a team while posting its third-best 3-point shooting performance of the season at 43.8 percent (7-of-16). It was the fifth time this season the Bears knocked down seven or more 3-pointers. Defensively, the Orange and Black held Western Carolina to just 3-of-13 shooting (23.1 pct.) from long range and forced the Catamounts to turn the ball over 11 times.

Series History
The Bears are 19-5 all-time against Furman, including a 14-2 mark since joining the Southern Conference in 2014-15. Mercer has won 13-of-its-last-14 games against Furman with the lone blemish over that stretch coming on Jan. 9 of last season in the conference opener.

Mercer won both meetings this season, outlasting the Paladins 69-66 in overtime on Jan. 21 before picking up a 71-57 victory two days later. Shannon Titus has led the Bears statistically in their two games versus Furman this year, averaging 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the floor.

Scouting the Paladins
Furman entered the SoCon Tournament as the No. 6 seed, but finished the season on a high note. The Paladins closed out the regular season on a three-game winning streak and extended it to four consecutive victories by upsetting No. 3 Chattanooga, 58-40, in the final quarterfinal matchup of the SoCon Tournament on Thursday night.

Against the Mocs, Tate Walters scored a game-high 18 points while collecting eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. Tierra Hodges posted a double-double in the win, going for 16 points and 15 rebounds. Celena Taborn was also in double figures for Furman with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting performance from the floor. As a team, the Paladins outrebounded Chattanooga, 41-25, in addition to playing a solid defensive game. They held the Mocs to shooting just 30.9 percent (17-of-55) from the field and 5.6 percent (1-of-18) from beyond-the-arc.

Furman likes to shoot the 3-ball as it leads the SoCon and ranks 74th nationally with 464 attempts from long range.

Hodges, a First Team All-SoCon selection by both the coaches and media, leads the Paladins and is one of just nine players in the country with at least 13 double-doubles. The Covington, Ga., native is averaging 16.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. SoCon Freshman of the Year Sydney James leads the Paladins in 3-pointers made with 37.

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.