Comeback in Cullowhee

Saturday, January 15

Cullowhee, NC

5:00 PM

Mercer University

10-5,3-0SoCon

Western Carolina

6-12,0-4SoCon

Mercer

Western Caro.

Photo by: Carlos Morales - UNCG

1/15/2022 7:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Neal-Tysor, Houpt combine for 40 in road win

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – To close out the first league road trip of the season, Mercer (10-5, 3-0 SoCon) used a 37-point second half to overcome the host Western Carolina Catamounts (6-12, 0-4 SoCon) by a 69-58 margin. Down by as many as 10 in the second quarter, the Bears slowly but surely chipped away at the deficit to earn the road result. Amoria Neal-Tysor, a Sanford, N.C. native, put up a season-best 25 to lead the Mercer offense. At the almost-midway portion of the third frame, she tallied her 1,000^th career point, joining teammates Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty in the exclusive club. Freshman guard, Erin Houpt, sank five three-pointers for her 15 points, which matches her career best set last month against UCF.

How it Happened
Western Carolina controlled the momentum in the early stages in a back-and-forth battle until Neal-Tysor hit a three with two ticks left in the opening quarter. The hosts grabbed their biggest lead of the afternoon when they led 34-24 with three to go until the break. An 8-0 run by Mercer, highlighted by six from Neal-Tysor closed the intermission deficit to just two.
The comeback attempt fully came through in the midway stages of the third when the game was back-and-forth once more. Following a deadlock after the third, a four-point spurt by the Bears was the momentum shift that was needed. A lay-in by Allie Thayne helped kickstart the 21-point period that helped push Mercer to the road win. Houpt followed the Thayne lay-in with her fifth three of the game to make the margin seven, which was the then-largest lead the Bears saw.

Quotables – Head Coach Susie Gardner
On the resilient second half and the team's response
"I thought Western Carolina played an exceptional game. They took it to us in the first half. They were rebounding and hitting shots, just played a really good game. I was proud of the way we fought back going into halftime only down two because it was a 10-point game. We fought back and talked at half about what we might need to do better and differently. I tried to play all of our post players and see who was going to battle inside and rebound with them. We just made plays at the end. Our defense picked up in the fourth. We got transition baskets. Votaw ran the floor well, Shannon got tips and steals and we had people hit big shots.
Amoria scored her 1,000^th point and we needed all of them tonight. It was a really tough game against a great opponent. I feel like we played well and found a way."

Notables
• The Bears have now won their fourth game in a row, which is the longest streak of the season
• Mercer has now won 10 of 11 in Cullowhee over the WCU and 11 of 13 in the state of North Carolina
• Neal-Tysor's 25 points eclipsed her previous best of 19, which happened against UAB in what-turned-out-to-be the last nonconference clash
• Erin Houpt's five threes is tied for the most in her young career as a Bear. The Danville, Ill. Product hit five in the setback to UCF in mid-December.
• Mercer has won their first three league games for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign and the fifth time since joining the SoCon in 2014-15

Up Next
Mercer quickly turnaround to host ETSU on Monday, January 17. Tipoff with the Bucs is slated for 5 p.m.

Follow the Bears:
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