Championship Season Concludes in Connecticut

Saturday, March 19

Storrs, CT

1 p.m.

Mercer University

23-7,13-1SoCon

UConn

26-5,16-1Big East

Mercer

UConn

Photo by: James Thomas

3/19/2022 4:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer ends campaign with 23-7 mark

STORRS, Conn. – The 2021-22 season for Mercer women's basketball concluded in the Gampel Pavilion at the hands of second-seeded UConn in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, 83-38.

Three-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Shannon Titus, led the Bears with 12 points, five steals and five rebounds against the Huskies. Erin Houpt added eight points and collected two boards while Amoria Neal-Tysor tallied four points on the afternoon. Graduate student, Endia Banks, led the Orange & Black with nine rebounds – seven of which came on the defensive end. Nigeria Harkless and Lauren McNamara-Clement each pulled a trio of boards in the effort.

Mercer was unable to contain UConn's Christyn Williams and Paige Bueckers, as they added 13 and 12 points, respectively to pace the Big East champions on their court. The homestanding Huskies won the rebounding battle on the glass by a 53-30 margin.

March Hits 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 📸 We're Ready‼️ 📷: @_JamesXThomas pic.twitter.com/smL2aBKVSU — Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) March 19, 2022

Both sides finished the opening frame with five points off turnovers.

How it Happened
Mercer hung around with UConn, where the two sides traded the game's first nine points. Runs in the late stages of the first quarter and early in the second helped the Huskies pull away from the Bears. A nine-point spurt by the Bears pulled them closer to the hosts going into the break.

Not backing down from the fight, Mercer opened the final frame with five of the quarter's first eight points, highlighted by a three from Houpt just eight seconds in. Jumpers by Kinley Fisher, Kassidy Jones and Ashlee Locke – all freshmen – highlighted the last moments of the game.

Notables
• Mercer appeared its fourth NCAA Tournament in five years
• The defeat drops the Bears to 0-2 all-time against present members of the Big East
• Since joining the SoCon, Mercer finished with 20+ wins for the sixth time
• The seven setbacks were the fewest since the three in the 2017-18 season, also a team that made the NCAA Tournament

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.