Shutting Down Samford in the Semifinals

Friday, March 4

Asheville, N.C.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

22-6,13-1SoCon

Samford

13-17,7-7SoCon

Samford

Mercer

Photo by: Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

3/4/2022 1:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Neal-Tysor, Titus lead Mercer to win, trip to Championship game

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Mercer kept its momentum from the quarterfinal in their 65-35 semifinal win over Samford in the 2022 SoCon Tournament at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. 20 points and 12 boards from Amoria Neal-Tysor and 18 from Shannon Titus led the Bears (22-6) over the Bulldogs (13-17) on Thursday, sealing a spot in Sunday's championship game.

Defense again was a strong point, as Mercer held every Bulldog to single digits and Samford to its fewest points all season. The Bears held Samford to just 20.5% (9-for-44) from the field and 18.2 (2-for-11) from long range and forced 18 turnovers which led to 19 Mercer points.
After tying her career best for points yesterday, Neal-Tysor set a new career-high in rebounds with a dozen. Titus – the Defensive Player of the Year – supplemented her 18 points with three boards, two assists, a swipe and a block to help keep the Bulldogs at bay. Jaron Dougherty, an all-second team selection, added a dozen points and four boards.

Mercer tallied 36 points in the paint and saw the bench add 13 in their offensive display, where they shot 50% (29-for-58) from the field.
The Bears won the rebound battle by a 41-26 margin.

It was the third time this season that the Bears have shot 50% or better this season.

How it Happened
Similarly to the quarterfinal, the opposition took control of the tip and claimed the first points. Mercer came ahead in a back-and-forth first quarter at 15-14 behind Titus' six points. The Bears pulled away in the second, where they held Samford to just four points and took a 10-0 run to end the frame. Neal-Tysor notched nine and grabbed half of her 12 boards to help keep the Bulldogs behind in the second.

NOT. TODAY. 😤 If you haven't already… meet the defensive player of the year! pic.twitter.com/DVFzythz6w
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) March 4, 2022

Keeping up their form from the first half, Mercer's defense held Samford off the board until the 5:30 mark of the third. A Dougherty jumper in the tail end of the third gave Mercer a lead of 34 – which was its biggest of the afternoon – compared to Samford, which held a 4-2 lead in the first. Dougherty and Neal-Tysor both added eight in the third. Closing out the contest in the fourth, Mercer only let the margin go to as low as 28 before a Lauren McNamara-Clement jumper brought it back to 30.

Q1 6:31 » Hold that 👌 up high! @bballmori10 MER 7, SAM 4 #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/lxQfWNbM30
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) March 4, 2022

Quotables - Head Coach Susie Gardner
Opening statement
"We're really pleased with our efforts today. Samford is a really good basketball team with one of the best scorers in the conference and one of the best post players in the conference. We knew our defense was going to be key and we talked about rebounding because they absolutely killed us at our place last time. This one right here (Amoria Neal-Tysor) decided to score points yesterday and get rebounds today. Really pleased with our effort."

On the game changing in the middle two quarters
"The other aspect of that was we quit fouling. The first quarter I think they had 8 points off free throws and we told our team not to foul but it doesn't always happen. But our goal was to quit fouling."

Notables
• 35 points was the fewest Mercer has conceded all season
• For the second time in the last three games in Asheville, Mercer held the opposition to under 40 points (Wofford)
• Mercer, the regular season champions, will play in the SoCon Championship for the fourth time in five seasons.

Up Next
Mercer will play Furman for the SoCon Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Noon.

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.