Bears Defeat Marist In Overtime, 73-67

Thursday, November 23

Savannah, Ga.

11:30 a.m.

Mercer University

2-5,0-0SoCon

Marist

2-3,0-0MAAC

OT 1

Marist

Mercer

11/23/2023 1:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Ashlee Locke had a career-high 17 points for the Bears

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Ashlee Locke had a career-high 17 points and Mackenzie Johnson had a double-double to help the Bears earn a 73-67 overtime win over Marist on Thanksgiving day in the Savannah Hoops Invitational.

The Bears led by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter but surrendered their lead as Marist would outscore the Bears 24-13 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

In overtime, the Bears relied on their defense holding Marist to just five points on 1-for-7 (14.3%) shooting and Locke and Johnson combined to score all 11 points for the Bears in overtime to earn the win.

Mercer did a better job of limiting its turnovers as the Bears had just eight, after having 20 turnovers the previous day against Bowling Green. Mercer outrebounded Marist 50-39 and had a 22-8 edge in offensive rebounds.

Mackenzie Johnson had her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds to go with six assists and two steals. Locke had a career-high 17 points to go with six rebounds.

Briana Peguero led the Bears with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Deja Williams contributed with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Marist took an early 13-6 lead in the first quarter, but the Bears scored eight of the last 11 points of the third quarter to get within two points at 16-14 after the first quarter.

The Bears had a strong second quarter which included a 14-2 run to jump out to a 28-20 lead with two minutes to play in the first half. Five different Mercer players scored in the second quarter as the Bears outscored Marist 16-12 in the second quarter to lead 30-26 at halftime.

Mackenzie Johnson scored the eight of the first 10 points of the third quarter for the Bears. Mercer closed the quarter on a 7-2 run with Peguero scoring all seven of Mercer's points as the Bears took their largest lead of the game at 49-38 into the fourth quarter.

Marist showed they wouldn't go away easily in the fourth quarter as they went on a 17-3 run to start the fourth quarter and took a 55-52 lead with just over four minutes to play. It was Marist's best shooting quarter as they went 7-for-12 (58.3%) from the field in the quarter.

Marist had the ball and a one-point lead at 60-59 with 20 seconds to play in regulation when Cianté Downs had a crucial steal on the inbounds to give the Bears a chance to take the lead. Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to give Mercer a 62-60 lead. Marist would get fouled and make both free throws on its ensuing possession to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Bears went to their post players, Johnson and Locke. After Marist made a three-pointer to cut Mercer's lead to 68-67 with 52 seconds to play, Locke made a layup and got fouled where she made her free throw to make it a two possession game. Mercer got the defensive stops they needed in the closing seconds to get the win.

NOTES

Locke's career-high 17 points were six more than her previous career-high of 11 points
Johnson's 15 rebounds were a career-high for her
Mercer made a season-high 28 field goals in the game
Mercer was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line
Mercer's eight turnovers were a season low

UP NEXT
Mercer will play at Charleston Southern on Saturday, November 25 at 2 p.m.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
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