Mercer to Face Second-Seeded UConn in First Round

STORRS, Conn. – The Mercer women's basketball team will open the 2022 NCAA Tournament when they meet second-seeded UConn in the first round of the Bridgepoint Regional on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The game will be televised on ABC with Pam Ward and Stephanie White on the call. Additionally, fans can tune into the game on the Mercer Sports Network on 100.9 FM "The Creek" and Sports Mic with Rick Cameron – the "Voice of the Bears" – on the call.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Teams: No. 15 Mercer Bears (23-6, 13-1 SoCon) vs. No. 2 UConn Huskies (25-5, 16-1 Big East)
Date: Saturday March 19, 2022 • 1 p.m.
Location: Storrs, Conn. • Gampel Pavilion
Live Stats: Stats
TV: ABC
TV Talent: Pam Ward and Stephanie White
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek" / Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

Six Honored by SoCon
Super senior Shannon Titus, seniors Amoria Neal-Tysor and Jaron Dougherty, freshmen Erin Houpt and Nigeria Harkless & Head Coach Susie Gardner were all honored by the SoCon. Titus became the first ever to be named the Defensive Player of the Year on three occasions, in addition to being placed on the First Team and the Defensive Team. Neal-Tysor was Mercer's other inclusion on the First Team, and Dougherty was named to the Second Team. Houpt, the conference leader in 3s, was named Freshman of the Year and to the All-Freshman Team, along with Nigeria Harkless. Coach Susie Gardner was named the league's Coach of the Year for the fourth time.

Last Time Out
Mercer punched its fourth ticket to the big dance in five seasons when they took down third-seeded Furman, 73-54, for the SoCon's automatic bid on March 6 in Asheville, N.C.'s Harrah's Cherokee Center. The Bears held the Paladins to just four points and 10% (1-for-10) from the field in the third quarter to seal the league's automatic bid to the tournament.

Amoria Neal-Tysor – the two-time Most Outstanding Player of the event - led the Bears with 26 points and six assists in 38 minutes of action. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Shannon Titus, scored 15, pulled four boards and dished four assists. Jaron Dougherty – an All-SoCon Second Team selection – scored 13 and collected three rebounds, while Erin Houpt – the league's Freshman of the Year – scored 12, snagged five rebounds and tallied two assists.

Series History
The Bears and Huskies will meet for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Mercer is meeting a current Big East team for the first time since 2007, when they met Xavier (then a member of the Atlantic 10) in a road game.

Scouting the Huskies
Winners of the Big East, UConn comes into the game with a 25-5 mark, including a 16-1 record in league play with a 4-2 record against ranked opposition. UConn is making their 38^th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and has made a NCAA-record 13-straight Final Fours. In the Big East championship, the Huskies totaled 38 points in the paint and tallied 28 from the bench in their 30-point win over Villanova. Christyn Williams leads UConn in scoring with 14.6 per game while Olivia Nelson-Ododa has pulled 7.4 rebounds per contest.

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.

Mercer to Face Second-Seeded UConn in First Round

Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Nigeria Harkless

Erin Houpt

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Shannon Titus

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