East Tennessee State Turns Back Visiting Mercer

Thursday, January 16

Johnson City, Tenn.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

6-11,1-1SoCon

East Tennessee State

10-8,1-2SoCon

Mercer

ETSU

East Tennessee State Turns Back Visiting Mercer

1/16/2025 9:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Home-standing East Tennessee State scored 22 points off of 17 Mercer turnovers and pulled away for good with a dominant third-quarter effort on the way to a 70-46 win over the Bears on Thursday evening in Brooks Gymnasium.

The setback stopped a two-game win skein for Mercer (6-11, 1-1 SoCon) who shot 43 percent from the field for the third time in five games despite the final score. The triumph snapped a two-game skid for the Bucs (10-8, 1-2) who picked up their first Southern Conference win in the process as well.

THE BASICS

SCORE: East Tennessee State 70, Mercer 46
RECORDS: Mercer 6-11 (1-1 SoCon); East Tennessee State 10-8 (1-2 SoCon)
LOCATION: Johnson City, Tenn. (Brooks Gymnasium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Both teams showed the hot hand in a back-and-forth first quarter, but it was a key 7-0 run that allowed the hosts to lug an 18-14 advantage into the second period. The squads traded punches through the first 90 seconds of the contest, but Kendall Folley's running layup with 8:11 left marked the first of seven-straight points by the Bucs that, inevitably, gave them the lead for good.

2ND QUARTER

Mercer made it a one-possession game, 18-16, just five seconds into the second quarter, but East Tennessee State followed with a 13-2 run over the next 4-1/2 minutes to stretch its lead all the way out to 31-18 at the 5:33 mark. The visitors scored the last four points of the second quarter, including a big 3-pointer from Talia Harris with less than a minute remaining, but ETSU was still able to carry a 34-27 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

East Tennessee State shot just 36 percent from the field, but added a dozen points off of nine turnovers to key an 18-6 scoring disparity in the third period. Ariana Bennett knifed into a double-digit deficit with a jumper at the 5:07 mark, but the Buccaneers scored the last 10 points of the stanza to take a 52-33 lead into the final period.

4TH QUARTER

The Bears got their offense back on track in the fourth quarter, but ETSU held the visitors at arm's length on the way to securing the victory. Nahawa Diarra's 3-pointer just two minutes in briefly brought the deficit under the 20-point plateau, but the hosts tacked up the game's next eight points to pad the advantage again.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ashlee Locke scored 14 points on 7-for-11 field goal shooting, while also adding six rebounds, three blocks and an assist.
+ Freshman Talia Harris tallied double-digit scoring for the third time in four games, this time registering 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra barely missed the double-digit scoring plateau with nine points. She also tallied four assists and a pair of rebounds.

NOTABLES

+ Despite the loss, the Bears shot 42.6 percent from the field – the fourth time this season that the Orange & Black has connected on at least 42 percent of their shot attempts.
+ Thursday's result marked the 15^th time in the 50-game-old series between the two sides that the outcome was decided by 20 or more points.
+ The Bears posted a 6-for-15 (.400) shooting clip in the fourth quarter on Thursday evening – the 12^th time this season that MU has shot at least 40 percent in the final stanza.

UP NEXT

The Bears will close out a two-game road trip on Saturday when they make the short hop south to take on Chattanooga (7-9, 2-1 SoCon) in McKenzie Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Mocs were a 69-63 winner over visiting Samford on Thursday evening in Chattanooga, Tenn.

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BACK THE BEARS

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