Bears Clip Chattanooga, 69-52

Saturday, January 8

Macon, Ga.

2:00 PM

Mercer University

8-5,1-0SoCon

Chattanooga

2-14,0-1SoCon

Chattanooga

Mercer

Photo by: James Thomas

1/8/2022 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

All five starters score 11 or more in conference opener

MACON, Ga. – Despite not playing for 20 days to due cancelations and a postponement, Mercer (8-5, 1-0 SoCon) used a 21-point final frame to pull away from Chattanooga (2-14, 0-1 SoCon) in the SoCon opener for both sides. Each starter – Amoria Neal-Tysor, Erin Houpt, Nigeria Harkless, Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty – scored in double figures for the conference win.

How it Happened

Mercer claimed the opening tip and the notched the contest's first six before the Mocs chipped away to bring the deficit to a 10-4 mark at the end of the first frame. Titus led the Bears with six in the first quarter, while Harkless added four of her career-high 11 on the day. The second was a back-and-forth period in which Mercer outscored UTC 18-17 to take a five-point cushion into the break.

3Q 1:49 » Another game, another 3 by none other than @erin_houpt10 at an important moment. MER 42, UTC 42#WhateverItTakes | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/GUTmdJMpEm — Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) January 8, 2022

The third quarter mimicked its predecessor with a 16-15 line that was highlighted with three consecutive threes by Houpt which turned what was a two-point deficit into a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter. It was Houpt's fourth game this season with at least four made from beyond the three-point line. At the 8:39 mark, Titus broke the Mercer record for steals in a career – besting Stephany Raines' mark of 252.

With a steal at the 8:39 mark, Shannon Titus has become Mercer's 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 with 253.#WhateverItTakes | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/3eCfOGmond — Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) January 8, 2022

The Bears closed out Chattanooga in the final frame behind a combined 16 points from Dougherty and Neal-Tysor and outscored the Mocs by a 21-10 margin.

Quotables – Head Coach Susie Gardner

Thoughts on the game after the significant layoff and resiliency of the team
"We've been hungry to play for a long time and I thought we got off to a great start and settled down a little bit. I thought the fact that we had five players in double-figures is showing that we have balance, which is good. I felt like we Erin Houpt and Nigeria Harkless – two freshmen - played well tonight for us. They got us going offensively. Anytime you can win a conference game, you're pleased."
On Nigeria Harkless' performance
"She's been working really hard. She's been coached well by Coach Marqu'es Webb and has been very attentive and has been putting in extra time. She has that fight in her. We've brought her along slowly, but she showed us promise."

Notables
• Mercer has now won seven of nine conference home openers since joining the SoCon in 2014-15
• The 17-point win was the largest victory in a home league opener since 2017-18 (80-57 over Western Carolina)
• It evens the series versus the Mocs in Macon – now tied at seven wins apiece
• The Bears have now won eight of the last 10 versus Chattanooga
• Shannon Titus' five steals gives her the record in program with history at 254
• Each starter scored at least 11 points

Up Next
Mercer will venture to Greensboro, N.C. to take on the UNCG Spartans on Thursday, January 13 for the first conference road game of the campaign.

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