Big First Half Leads Western Kentucky Past Mercer

Tuesday, November 12

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

1-2,0-0SoCon

Western Kentucky

3-0,0-0CUSA

Western Ky.

Mercer

Big First Half Leads Western Kentucky Past Mercer

11/12/2024 7:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Sharp-shooting Western Kentucky limited home-standing Mercer to a 25 percent shooting effort in the opening half to forge a big halftime lead, and then kept the Bears at a distance the rest of the way out on the way to a 78-54 victory on Tuesday evening at Hawkins Arena.

The result marked the first home loss of the season for the Bears (1-2) who fell to 1-4 all-time in the series with Western Kentucky (3-0), including an 0-2 mark against the Lady Toppers at Hawkins Arena.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Western Kentucky 78, Mercer 54
RECORDS: Mercer 1-2 (0-0 SoCon); Western Kentucky (3-0, 0-0 CUSA)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Western Kentucky used 70 percent (7-for-10) shooting to build a 16-2 lead just more than five minutes into the first quarter before Mercer finally broke a nearly-5-minute scoring drought on Chelsy Bautista's running layup at the 4:26 mark. The Bears connected on three of their next field goal attempts, but the Lady Toppers still managed to take a 25-12 advantage into the second stanza.

2ND QUARTER

Mercer found its shooting touch in the second quarter, but Western Kentucky shot 47.1 percent from the field to take a 45-26 lead into the halftime break. The visitors used an old fashioned 3-point play from Destiny Salary to go out in front by 22 points, 39-17, with 5:55 left before the intermission, but the Orange & Black answered by scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a big bite out of its deficit.

3RD QUARTER

The Bears limited the Lady Toppers to a paltry 31.3 percent shooting effort in the third period, but were unable to gain any ground. MU scored four-straight points midway through the quarter to eventually whittle its deficit down to 17 points, 53-36, on a bucket from Talia Harris, but WKU held steady after that and eventually lugged a 58-39 advantage into the final period.

4TH QUARTER

Western Kentucky scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to grab a game-best 29-point lead, 68-39, following a 3-pointer from Destiny Salary. The Bears tacked up eight of the next 10 points in what turned out to be their final surge of the evening, but could not get any closer.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Freshman Talia Harris scored all of her team-best nine points in the second half, while also posting a steal.
+ Junior Aliyah Collins netted eight points on 3-for-4 shooting, and turned in two rebounds and a steal as well.
+ Junior Kayla Smith scored six of her eight points in the opening half, and added three boards and a pair of steals.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears registered double-digit offensive rebounds (10) for the second-straight game, and closed out the evening with eight second-chance points.
+ Mercer got 35 of its 54 points from its bench on Tuesday, including eight points from both Aliyah Collins and Kayla Smith, and nine from Talia Harris.
+ MU registered 14 points on as many turnovers by Western Kentucky, including eight points in the first half alone.

UP NEXT

Mercer will close out a short two-game home stand on Sunday when it suits up to take on North Carolina A&T (0-3) in Hawkins Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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BACK THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email maf@mercer.edu.