Women’s Basketball Takes On UNCG In SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer women's basketball team will begin the SoCon Tournament Thursday in Asheville, North Carolina, against UNCG. The Bears earned the No. 5 seed and will take on the Spartans who earned the No. 4 seed.

GAME DAY INFO
Mercer (12-15, 8-6) vs UNCG (15-13, 8-6)
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 1:15 p.m. ET
Asheville, N.C. | Harrah's Cherokee Center
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek" / Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron

FOUR PLAYERS HONORED BY SOCON
Four Mercer players received recognition from the SoCon following the conclusion of the regular season. Summah Evans was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Amoria Neal-Tysor was named First Team All-SoCon by the coaches, Erin Houpt was named Third Team All-SoCon by the media, and Enjulina Gonzalez was named to the All-Freshman Team.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mercer women's basketball team erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game with two minutes left, but ultimately came up short in an 82-76 defeat at Wofford on Saturday in the final regular season game of the season.

Trailing 67-54 entering the fourth quarter, Mercer went on an 18-5 run to tie the game with just over two minutes to play.

Mercer shot 43.9 percent from the field and attempted a season-high 26 3-pointers making nine of them. Each team did a great job of protecting the ball as Mercer had just seven turnovers its fewest in a conference game this season.

Amoria Neal-Tysor followed up her 42-point performance at Wofford with a game-high 27 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.

Jaron Dougherty had her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Erin Houpt added 21 points going 9-for-17 (52.9%) from the field.

SCOUTING UNCG
UNCG finished the regular season with a record of 15-13. The Spartans like the Bears went 8-6 in conference play and earned the No. 4 seed in the SoCon Tournament.

The teams split their two meetings this year, with each winning on the road.

The Spartans finished conference play in the middle of the pack in scoring offense (5th) and defense (4th) respectively.

The Spartans are second in the conference averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds per game. The Spartans have one of the best rebounders in the country in Khalis Cain who led the SoCon averaging 9.0 rebounds per game. Cain was named to the All- Defensive Team.

UNCG's leading scorer in conference play has been Akira Wiggins. Wiggins averaged 13.0 points per game in SoCon play and averaged 9.5 points per game in the two meetings with Mercer.

Despite ranking sixth in the SoCon in 3-point percentage as a team, Faith Price has been UNCG's most dangerous 3-point shooter as she is shooting 34.0 percent from behind the arc in SoCon play. She has made 33 3-pointers in SoCon play; no other Spartan has made more than nine.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 22nd all-time meeting between the Bears and Spartans. Mercer leads the series 17-4.

STANDOUT STAT
The Bears finished the regular season first in the SoCon – in conference play - in field goal percentage (45.6%), free throw percentage (81.3%) and 3-point percentage (40.7%).

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.

Women’s Basketball Takes On UNCG In SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals

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Players Mentioned

Jaron Dougherty

Summah Evans

Enjulina Gonzalez

Erin Houpt

Amoria Neal-Tysor

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