Dominant Defense carries Bears to 76-40 win over Western Carolina

Saturday, January 7

Macon, Ga.

2 PM

Mercer University

5-10,1-1SoCon

Western Carolina University

7-10,0-2SoCon

Western Caro.

Mercer

Dominant Defense carries Bears to 76-40 win over Western Carolina

1/7/2023 7:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Coach Gardner earned her 400th career win as a Division I head coach

MACON, Ga. – A dominant defensive showing from Mercer carried the Bears to a 76-40 win over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon from Hawkins Arena.

With the win, Mercer head coach Susie Gardner earned her 400^th career win as a Division I head coach. 224 of Gardner's 400 wins have come as head coach at Mercer.

You know it was good vibes in the locker room after @EPEDtogether's 400th win as a Division I head coach!#UsVsUs | #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/fiFz9ygDZV
— Mercer Women's Basketball (@Mercer_WBB) January 7, 2023

With the Bears turning up the pressure defensively all game, the offense was balanced and efficient. Four different Mercer players finished in double-figures in scoring and as a team Mercer shot 49 percent from the floor. The Bears did a lot of damage at the free throw line, going 22-for-27 (81%) from the line.

Jaron Dougherty led Mercer in scoring and rebounds with 16 points and seven rebounds. Amoria Neal-Tysor had an efficient night from the floor as she was 7-for-12 (58%) from the floor, to give her 15 points. She also added six rebounds and three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Each team struggled offensively in the first quarter, as Mercer shot 29 percent and Western Carolina 14 percent from the field in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Mercer's offense started to get going. Trailing 18-17, Mercer went on a 17-2 run to close out the second quarter and take a 14-point lead into halftime. Dougherty had nine of Mercer's 17 points during the run and Summah Evans closed out the half with a layup just before the halftime buzzer.

In the second half, Mercer never let Western Carolina make a run to get back in the game as the Bears held a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half. With the Bears leading 42-30 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Mercer went on a 10-2 run to close out the quarter and take a commanding 19-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Mercer didn't let up in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Catamounts 24-8 in the final quarter. Eight different players scored in the quarter and the Bears closed the game out on a 10-0 run.

JARON DOUGHERTY ON HER AGGRESSIVENESS OFFENSIVELY
"As my career has gone on, I've always been on, I've always been one of the more prominent scorers on the team, and I'm really trying to get back into that role so I can help the team. When I see it go in, it's like I'm getting back to my old flow, so it's nice to see."

COACH GARDNER ON TEAM'S EXCELLENT DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE
"We've been talking about defense now for a long time. Ever since we've played the game where our shots weren't falling [vs Anderson] we talked about amping up our defensive intensity, and I was really pleased with that tonight. For the most part, minus Western Carolina getting so many offensive rebounds, I thought we did a pretty good job overall."

NOTABLES

The Bears had their best defensive performance of the season statistically, as Western Carolina's 23 percent field goal percentage was the lowest field goal percentage an opponent has had against the Bears this season.
Mercer shot 50 percent or better from the field in each of the last three quarters of the game.
Mercer held Western Carolina to just one assist in the game.
Mercer's 22 made free throws were tied for the most made in a game since the season opener against MTSU, when the Bears also made 22 free thows.

UP NEXT:
Mercer will travel to Johnson City, Tennessee to play East Tennessee State on Thursday, January 12. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @Mercer_wbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.