Mercer Wraps Up Road Trip With Setback At Tulane

Sunday, December 15

New Orleans, La.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

4-8,0-0SoCon

Tulane

5-4,0-0AAC

Mercer

Tulane

Mercer Wraps Up Road Trip With Setback At Tulane

12/15/2024 5:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

NEW ORLEANS – Visiting Mercer forced 20 turnovers by home-standing Tulane, including 13 in the first half alone, but the Green Wave countered with 48 percent field goal shooting, as well as a 14-for-20 performance from the free throw line, to key a 73-46 win over the Bears on Sunday afternoon in Avron B. Fogelman Arena.

The result marked the third-straight loss for the Orange & Black (4-8) who has forced nearly 15 turnovers (14.8) per game over its last four outings, and matched a season-high with 12 steals on Sunday. It was the fourth win in the last five games for the Green Wave (5-4) who has shot north of 40 percent four times over that stretch.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Tulane 73, Mercer 46
RECORDS: Mercer 4-8 (0-0 SoCon); Tulane 5-4 (0-0 AAC)
LOCATION: New Orleans, La. (Avron B. Fogelman Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Mercer mustered just 3-for-14 shooting in the opening quarter, but was able to hang around by scoring eight points on a quintet of Tulane turnovers. The squads traded buckets in the first 26 seconds of the stanza, but Tulane responded with a 10-0 run after that to pull away.

2ND QUARTER

Tulane shot better than 71 percent (10-for-14) from the field in the second period and nearly doubled up (23-12) the Bears on the way to take a 38-21 lead into the locker rooms. Nahawa Diarra made it a two-possession game, 21-15, on a driving layup at the 7:33 mark, but Tulane put together a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to pad its advantage.

3RD QUARTER

The Green Wave limited Mercer to just 18.8 percent shooting in the third period and was able to add to their lead via an 18-11 output in the stanza. Tulane pushed its lead past the 20-point plateau, 45-23, on Amira Mabry's 3-pointer just more than three minutes in, but the Bears got an old-fashioned 3-point play from Nahawa Diarra right before the buzzer to cut into their deficit.

4TH QUARTER

Mercer was able to tack up a game-best 14 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a 5-for-12 shooting clip, including a pair of 3-pointers. Ariana Bennett's second-chance layup with 5:29 play pulled the visitors to within 21 points, 60-39, but Tulane scored eight of the game's next 10 points to all but close it out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Ariana Bennett scored eight of her team-high 12 points in the second half on Sunday, while also matching a team-high with seven rebounds as well.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra chipped in 11 points and a team-best four assists to Sunday's effort. Six of her points came via a 3-for-8 shooting performance in the first half.
+ Senior Ashlee Locke posted four points, while also adding seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears matched a season-high with a dozen steals on Sunday. The Bears also tallied 12 swipes in a road loss to Florida Atlantic last month.
+ Mercer has now dropped three-straight games and fell to 1-5 away from Macon with Sunday's result in New Orleans.
+ MU won the turnover battle (20-18) on Sunday against the Green Wave. It is the first time since the matchup with Charleston Southern (five games) that the Bears have accomplished that feat.

UP NEXT

Mercer will play a pair of home games this week, beginning with a Thursday evening tilt against Jackson State (1-8) in Hawkins Arena. The Bears are also scheduled for a Saturday afternoon matchup against Appalachian State (3-5) in Macon. Tickets for both games 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.