Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Mercer Past Jackson State

Wednesday, November 19

Jackson, Miss.

Noon

Mercer University

3-2,0-0SoCon

Jackson State

1-3,0-0SWAC

Mercer

Jackson St.

Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Mercer Past Jackson State

11/19/2025 2:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

JACKSON, Miss. – Senior Ariana Bennett scored a game-high 19 points on 8-for-10 field goal shooting to headline a balanced Mercer scoring attack as the Bears picked up their second road win of the season with a 78-68 win at Jackson State on Wednesday afternoon.

Five different players tallied at least nine points for the Bears (3-2) who shot nearly 63 percent from the field in the opening half and led for all but nine seconds of the high noon tilt. It was the third-straight loss for the Tigers (1-3) who rolled into the game boasting a defense that had limited opponents to just 60.3 points an outing.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 78, Jackson State 68
RECORDS: Mercer 3-2 (0-0 SoCon); Jackson State 1-3 (0-0 SWAC)
LOCATION: Jackson, Miss. (Williams Athletics and Assembly Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Bears connected on 75 percent (9-for-12) of their shot attempts in the opening stanza, including a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the perimeter, to key a 28-point period as well as a 10-point lead through 10 minutes of action. The Bears scored the first eight points of the morning, including a pair of treys from newcomer Abigail Holtman, to key the early surge.

2ND QUARTER

Jackson State scored the first five points of the second quarter to pull to within a pair of possessions, 10-5, but Rania Curry hit the front end of a two-shot foul on the other end of the court to signal a 10-0 run over the next 2-1/2 minutes that allowed the visitors to pull away for good. Micah O'Dell hit a short jumper at the 6:21 mark to push MU's advantage out to 15 points, 38-23, and the Bears inevitably took a 46-34 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Jackson State, again, opened the period with five-straight points to whittle its deficit down to single digits just more than two minutes into the second half, but the Bears answered with a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to pad their lead out to a game-high 16 points, 57-41. Mercer shot 44.4 percent from the field in the third quarter, but keyed its scoreboard consistency with a 6-for-7 clip from the charity stripe.

4TH QUARTER

The squads combined for just six made field goals in the fourth quarter, including a 3-for-10 showing by the hosts, and the scoreboard disparity rarely changed. Mercer, twice, pushed its lead out to 14 points, and held the Tigers without a field goal for the final 5-1/2 minutes of the afternoon.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ariana Bennett tallied a game-best 19 points on 8-for-10 field goal shooting for the Bears to go along with five rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals. She scored 10 points in the second half on a 5-for-6 shooting clip.
+ Junior transfer Micah O'Dell scored all 15 of her points in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers (four attempts). She also contributed five rebounds and three assists.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra chipped in a dozen points, while adding a team-high eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer did not surrender the lead after scoring the game's opening basket just nine seconds into the contest. The Bears led for 39 minutes and 51 seconds.
+ The Bears connected on 62.5 percent (15-for-24) of their baskets in the opening half, including a 7-for-10 (.700) clip from 3-point territory. The Orange & Black made good on 13 of their first 16 (.812) shot attempts.
+ MU shot 7-for-14 from 3-point territory on Wednesday, its best perimeter performance since connecting on 53.8 percent (7-for-13) of its 3-point attempts in a road setback to Furman last season.

UP NEXT

The Bears will close out their three-game road trip on Saturday when they make the short trip to Statesboro to battle Georgia Southern in the Jack and Ruth Hill Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. Mercer is set to return to Hawkins Arena on Tuesday when they lace up to battle Florida A&M at 7 p.m.

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BACK THE BEARS

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