Bears Own Second Half On Way To 65-46 Win Over UNCG

Saturday, February 4

Greensboro, NC

4 PM

Mercer University

10-12,6-3SoCon

UNC Greensboro

10-13,3-6SoCon

Mercer

UNC Greensboro

Bears Own Second Half On Way To 65-46 Win Over UNCG

2/4/2023 7:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer allowed just 18 second half points to UNCG

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Mercer women's basketball team held UNCG to just six fourth quarter points in a second half that was controlled by the Bears in a 65-46 win over UNCG on Saturday.

With the game tied at 28 at halftime, Mercer outscored UNCG 37-18 in the second half to pick up its sixth conference win this season.

Mercer held UNCG to just 29 percent shooting from the field and the Spartans were just 2-for-12 from 3-point range.

Amoria Neal-Tysor led the Bears with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Jaron Dougherty was the other Mercer player to score in double-figures as she had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Summah Evans led the Bears with eight rebounds and Ashlee Locke had a career-high three blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A Jaron Dougherty 3-pointer gave Mercer an early 9-4 lead in the first quarter. Despite not making a field goal over the final four minutes of the first quarter, Mercer's defense allowed it to keep its lead after the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was all about a big scoring run from each team. The bears began the quarter on an 11-1 run to open its lead up to 15 points at 26-11. Dougherty and Neal-Tysor combined for nine of Mercer's 11 points over the scoring run.

However, the Spartans countered with a 17-2 run to tie the game at 28 at halftime.

UNCG took the lead in the second half with two early third quarter free throws to take a 30-28 lead. Again, Mercer would go on a scoring run of 12-0 to take a 40-30 lead. Like Mercer's scoring run in the second quarter, it was Dougherty and Neal-Tysor doing most of the damage offensively. Dougherty had Mercer's first five points of the scoring run and Neal-Tysor the last seven.

Neal-Tysor had 12 of her 20 points in the third quarter as Mercer took back control of the game in the quarter.

Mercer's defense closed out the game in the fourth quarter, holding the Spartans to just six fourth quarter points on 2-for-10 shooting. With the Bears leading 54-44 with seven minutes remaining in the game, the Bears would close out the game on an 11-2 run.

COACH GARDNER ON HALFTIME AND IN-GAME ADJUSTMENTS
"During a media timeout, we were up, and Amoria even said 'This is a team that can come back on us. We've got to stay focused.' The team is aware of this. And so, our leaders were talking about that during the timeout. Very disappointed that we relinquished the lead, but I pretty much told them that it was on them which direction that the rest of this game goes, and they responded. They responded in a very positive way."

COACH GARDNER ON SUMMAH'S DEFENSIVE EFFORT ON UNCG'S FAITH PRICE
"Last time Price had 18 points on us and Summah did not guard her in the first game. So, we put Summah on her in this game and it shows. She didn't have any points. We need more people locked in on defense like Summah is."

NOTABLES

Mercer was 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Its fourth consecutive game it has shot at least 40 percent from deep.
Mercer has held its last three opponents to a combined 5-for-32 (15.6%) from 3-point range.
Amoria's 20 points gave her her seventh 20-point game of the season.
Mercer held UNCG to 46 points, tied for the fewest the Spartans have scored in a game this season.

UP NEXT:
Mercer returns home to play Chattanooga on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.

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.