Mercer Clashes with Wofford for SoCon Title

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer women's basketball team is set to battle the No. 4 Wofford Terriers for the Southern Conference championship on Sunday at the Harrah's Cherokee Center with tipoff slated for noon.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021 | 12 p.m.
Teams: #2 Mercer (18-6, 10-3 SoCon) vs. #4 Wofford (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 | Wofford

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 18-6. 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. Junior Amoria Neal-Tysor (17.0 ppg) is the second-leading scorer in the conference, while fellow junior Jaron Dougherty (16.1 ppg) ranks fourth in the conference. Redshirt senior Jada Lewis (14.3 ppg) owns the fifth-best scoring average in the conference, and senior Shannon Titus (13.5 ppg) ranks sixth in the SoCon in scoring average.

SoCon Tournament History
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2014-15, Mercer owns a 14-4 record at the SoCon Tournament. This is the second time the Bears are the No. 2 seed and first since the 2016-17 season. Mercer is playing in the SoCon Championship game for the fifth time in the last six years. The Bears are 2-2 in that stretch, winning their two most recent appearances in 2018-19 (vs. Wofford, 66-63) and 2017-18 (vs. ETSU, 68-53).

Here is how Mercer has fared in the tournament...

as the No. 2 seed: 4-1
vs. No. 4 seed: 0-0
in the championship: 2-2
vs. Wofford: 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 27.4 points per game in her five games in the Tar Heel State this season, including scoring at least 20 points in each contest. She scored a career-high 34 points in the last game against Furman on Friday, going 13-of-22 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond-the-arc. This was her second 30-point game in her home state as she dropped 30 points on a personal-best 13-of-18 shooting in the second game against UNCG on Jan. 16. She has shot 51.9 percent (54-of-104) from the field in those games, including 42.9 percent (18-of-42) from 3-point range.

Last Time Out
Mercer earned its fifth berth to the Southern Conference Championship game in the last six years after a 50-point first half propelled the Bears past No. 6 Furman, 81-71, in the conference semifinals on Friday at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

The Bears' offense came ready to play as they set season highs with 50 points and a 63.6 shooting percentage on 21-of-33 attempts from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Junior Amoria Neal-Tysor was nearly unstoppable in the first half, going for 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field while making 4-of-5 shots from beyond-the-arc. The Sanford, N.C., native finished with a career-high 34 points while matching her personal best of 13 made field goals.

Neal-Tysor was one of four Bears to score in double figures against the Paladins, along with Jaron Dougherty (17 pts.), Shannon Titus (16 pts.) and Jada Lewis (11 pts.). Dougherty collected a team-high seven rebounds, while Titus posted game highs with six assists and four steals. Lewis matched Titus with four steals in the game while adding four rebounds and three assists. Allie Thayne created numerous second chance opportunities for the Bears in the game as four of her five rebounds came on the offensive glass.

Series History
The Bears boast a 16-2 all-time record against Wofford, including a 15-1 mark since joining the Southern Conference in 2014-15. After splitting the first two meetings in 1997, Mercer won 13 consecutive games against the Terriers before that streak was snapped on Jan. 11, 2020 in Spartanburg.

Mercer returned the favor in the second meeting between the two teams on Feb. 6 with a gritty 54-53 victory in Hawkins Arena.

The Bears won both meetings against Wofford this year with a 54-47 win on Feb. 19 before claiming an 83-74 victory in a double-overtime thriller on Feb. 21. Mercer used a pair of clutch 3-pointers from Jada Lewis and Jaron Dougherty to tie the game and force both overtime periods. Lewis hit from the right elbow with 8.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, while Dougherty drained a step-back from the right corner with 2.9 seconds left in the first overtime.

Shannon Titus was the leading scorer in both games, going for 22 points in the first game and a season-high 27 in game two. She added a career-high 15 rebounds in the first outing and averaged 12.0 over the two games.

Scouting the Terriers
Wofford earned a trip to its first-ever SoCon Championship game after defeating No. 5 UNCG, 78-66, and No. 8 ETSU, 75-64. The Terriers have found success in Asheville after dropping their last four games of the regular season, including a pair against Mercer.

The Terriers are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation as they rank 29th in total rebounds (938), 44th in rebounds per game (40.78) and 68th in rebound margin (+4.0) while leading the SoCon in all categories. Wofford had a pair of players recognized on the postseason All-SoCon teams with Lilly Hatton earning second team honors from the coaches and media, while Jamari McDavid was named to the All-SoCon Third Team by the media.

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.

Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Jada Lewis

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Allie Thayne

Shannon Titus

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