Taking Down the Terriers

Saturday, January 22

Macon, Ga.

2:30 PM

Mercer University

12-6,5-1SoCon

Wofford

8-10,3-1SoCon

Wofford

Mercer

Photo by: Kayla Davis

1/22/2022 5:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer upends Wofford, 67-53, to take SoCon's top spot

MACON, Ga. – Missed opportunities haunted Mercer in their last game, but today, the Bears (13-6, 5-1 SoCon) flipped the script against the visiting Wofford Terriers (8-10, 3-1 SoCon) on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.

Amoria Neal-Tysor, a senior guard, led the Bears to the win behind a near-triple-double that included 21 points, 11 boards and six steals. Each one of her 11 came on the defensive end. Shannon Titus followed up with 16 points and Jaron Dougherty 12. In addition to her 16 scored, Titus snagged seven rebounds and dished four assists while Dougherty claimed four rebounds. As a team, Mercer utilized 21 points off Terrier turnovers and notched 30 points in the paint in the 14-point conference win.

The 11 boards by Neal-Tysor broke a career-high, which was previously set in January 2020 – an eight rebound effort – versus ETSU.

Mercer held Jackie Carman, one of the SoCon's best offensive players to just five points on two field goals. Reagan Rapert led the Terriers with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals.

How it Happened
The sides traded the first two points until the Bears took a lead that stretched as seven before Wofford closed the gap to five leading into the second. Titus and Dougherty near-evenly split 14 of the Bears' 19 in the first frame, followed by Endia Banks' five. Neal-Tysor grabbed five of her 11 rebounds in the opening frame to set the tone for her big day.

Mercer used a 16-point second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the break, which was highlighted by seven points from Neal-Tysor. A hot start in the 3^rd quarter by Wofford closed the gap before they took a short one-point that they never could get back. Mercer used a 6-0 run late in the third to break away from the Terriers before the stout Mercer defense held the visitors from converting anything from the field for the contest's last 3:28.

Quotables – Head Coach Susie Gardner
How the team responded from Furman and what changed
"We had a really good day on Friday in preparing for Wofford. I really thought our players were locked in. We talked about how Wofford has such a potent offense and such good players all-around, and we knew our defense had to be key. I felt like our defense in the first half was good. In the second half, they made that run - as good teams are going to do. I'm just proud of the bounce-back that our team had – we could've hung our heads, but we decided to grit our teeth and fought back."

On the third quarter bounce back
"I called a timeout and we needed someone to score. I felt like Amoria was the one who stepped up during that time. I'm proud of her for getting 21 points and 11 defensive rebounds. Their three-point shots came off long and she was able to corral those. It was a good win for our program."

Notables
• For the third time in five conference clashes, Neal-Tysor put up at least 20 points.
• Mercer is now 10-0 when coming off a loss since last season
• Dougherty, Neal-Tysor and Titus all have scored in double-figures in five of six league games

Up Next
Mercer will be idle until Saturday, January 29 when they welcome Samford to Hawkins Arena. Tip between the Bears and Bulldogs will be at 2:30 p.m. The contest will be shown on ESPN+ and can be heard on 100.9 FM The Creek and SportsMic as "The Voice of the Bears," Rick Cameron, will be on the call.

Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer 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.