Bears Hold Off Detroit Mercy At Tulane Holiday Tournament

Saturday, December 20

New Orleans, La.

3:30 p.m.

Mercer University

8-5,0-0SoCon

Detroit Mercy

3-7,2-1Horizon

Mercer

Detroit Mercy

Bears Hold Off Detroit Mercy At Tulane Holiday Tournament

12/20/2025 6:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

NEW ORLEANS – Short-handed Mercer scored 27 points off of 21 Detroit Mercy turnovers and hit six pivotal free throws in the final minute to hold off the Titans, 64-55, in the second game of the Tulane Holiday Tournament on Saturday afternoon inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena.

It was the third-straight win for the Bears (8-5) who used the result to put the kibosh on a three-game skid away from home as well. It was the second-straight loss for the Titans (3-7) who remained winless away from Detroit in 2025-26 with the outcome.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 64, Detroit Mercy 55
RECORDS: Mercer 8-5 (0-0 SoCon); Detroit Mercery 3-7 (0-0 Horizon)
LOCATION: New Orleans, La. (Avron B. Fogelman Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

A driving layup from Jasmins Edwards gave the Titans a 5-3 advantage just less than three minutes into the opening period, but Elena Cabello's layup 17 seconds later ignited the Bears on a 14-2 run over that next three minutes that eventually gave them a 16-7 lead on Cabello's triple at the 3:49 mark. Another 3-pointer from Cabello just more than 60 seconds later stretched MU's lead out to double digits, 21-11.

2ND QUARTER

The Bears mustered just four made field goals in the second period, but forced four turnovers and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to inevitably lug a 38-27 lead into the halftime break. Mercer used a 12-4 run early in the stanza to pad its advantage out to as many as 18 points, 38-20, following a 3-pointer from Abigail Holtman, but Detroit Mercy tacked up the final seven points of the quarter to collect some of the momentum.

3RD QUARTER

Detroit Mercy made it a two-possession game, 40-34, on a fast break bucket from Jasmine Edwards at the 7:03 mark, but the Titans missed their next seven field goal attempts which enabled the Bears to stretch their lead back out to double digits, 45-34, five minutes later. The Titans rebounded, however, by tacking up the game's next seven points, including a trey by Maya Anderson with 10 ticks left, to make it a two-possession game, 45-41, once again.

4TH QUARTER

Mercer shot nearly 42 percent from the field in the final period, and canned six-straight free throws in the final minute, to provide the 64-55 final. Nahawa Diarra hit a big 3-pointer 24 seconds into the frame to put the Bears out in front by nine points, 50-41, but Detroit Mercy reeled off seven-straight points to put Mercer back on its heels. The Titans continued to hang around looking for an opportunity, but Maya Anderson's unforced turnover with 1:15 left all but sealed the result.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Talia Kemp scored a season-high 16 points on 7-for-13 field goal shooting, while also adding three steals and a pair of assists.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra added 14 points of her own, including nine in the second half, and turned in six rebounds, four assists and a trio of steals.
+ Junior Abigail Holtman went 3-for-8 from the perimeter on the way to an 11-point outing. She also pulled down five boards and tallied two blocks.
+ Freshman Remi-Hope Drantmann recorded a team-high nine rebounds, while also chipping in an assist.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer used Saturday's victory to match its overall win total from a season ago. It was also the eighth non-conference win for the Orange & Black – the most for the program since the 2018-19 squad finished with an 8-7 non-conference clip during the regular season.
+ The Bears registered a 15-for-20 clip from the free throw line on Saturday – the 10^th time this season that the Orange & Black has connected on at least 70 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.
+ MU out-rebounded its opponent for the third time in as many games on Saturday, tallying a 40-36 disparity in the rebounding column. It is the eighth time this season that the Bears have prevailed in the rebounding battle.

UP NEXT

Mercer will get a short rest before taking on the host-Green Wave (5-6) on Sunday in the championship game of the Tulane Holiday Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET in Avron B. Fogelman Arena. The game is slated to be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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BACK THE BEARS

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