Bears Come Up Short At Georgia Tech, 73-60

Tuesday, December 5

Atlanta, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

3-8,0-0SoCon

Georgia Tech

6-3,0-0ACC

Mercer

Georgia Tech

12/5/2023 11:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Mercer trailed by two at halftime, but had rough third quarter

ATLANTA, Ga. - Mercer trailed by just two points at halftime, but an uneven third quarter prevented the Bears from earning a win over Georgia Tech Tuesday night as the Yellow Jackets defeated the Bears 73-60.

After an overall solid first 20 minutes, mistakes and turnovers in the third quarter hurt Mercer's chances of pulling out the win.

Mercer shot 25-for-60 (41.7%) from the field. Mercer's leading scorer Deja Williams made five of Mercer's seven three-pointers on the night. Williams finished with 17 points and was 5-for-10 from behind the arc.

Georgia Tech was 28-for-60 (46.7%) from the field and had the advantage at the free throw line where they were 12-for-16 to Mercer's 3-for-6 at the line.

Briana Peguero was the only other Mercer player to score in double figures as she had 15 points to go with a season-high seven rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore Maria Serracanta had her best game of the season with a career-high seven points on 3-for-3 shooting. She also had six assists to just one turnover.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears got off to a bit of a slow start as they found themselves down 10-2 in the opening minutes of the game. Peguero would score nine of Mercer's 11 first quarter points as Georgia Tech led 14-11 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, a layup from Stacie Jones followed by a three-pointer from Williams gave Mercer a 23-22 lead. Georgia Tech would fight back to take a 31-29 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was won by Georgia Tech who was able to extend its lead early in the quarter to 10 points at 41-31. The Bears would get their offense going later in the quarter but the Yellow Jackets took a 55-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Williams' fourth three-pointer of the night followed by a layup from Jones made it a 59-52 game with more than seven minutes still to play. Another three-pointer from Williams made it 62-58 with just under five minutes to go. However, Georgia Tech was able to hold off the Bears down the stretch for the 73-60 win.

NOTES

Williams scored 17 points for the second consecutive game, tying her season-high
Peguero had a season-high seven rebounds
Serracanta had a career-high in points (7) and tied a career-high in assists (6)
Mercer's 41.7% field goal percentage is the second best field goal percentage in a game this season for the Bears
Mercer's six free throw attempts were a season low

COACH GARDNER QUOTES

Opening Statement:
"I was so pleased going into halftime because we fought back from being down and it was a two-point game and we just kept fighting. Then once again the start of the third quarter and the third quarter in totality, 24-13. Against a good team like this we cannot have those lapses. Did we get better this game? Absolutely. Did we fight? Did we do some good things? Yes, but against a team like Georgia Tech, we cannot have the errors whether it be a missed open shot or a missed defensive assignment. We can't have those back-to-back because they capitalize and all of a sudden it's a four-point turnaround."

On the team's poise, especially the guards:
"We've been working hard. I thought Maria had an exceptional game. She had six assists and one turnover and 3-for-3 [from the field]. I thought she's playing within herself now. She did some good things defensively. I thought our guards played really well tonight."

FOLLOW THE BEARS
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