Bears Grind Out Win At East Tennessee State

Tuesday, February 10

Johnson City, Tenn.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

15-9,5-4SoCon

East Tennessee State

12-12,5-4SoCon

Mercer

East Tennessee State

2/10/2026 9:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Visiting Mercer limited East Tennessee State to just 22.2 percent shooting and 15 points in the opening half, and then used a handful of key defensive stops in the fourth quarter to down the hot-handed Buccaneers, 50-45, on Tuesday evening in Brooks Gymnasium.

It was the third-straight win for the Bears (15-9, 5-4 SoCon) who got 22 points from their bench, including a trio of buckets from senior Ariana Bennett in the fourth quarter alone. The setback snapped a five-game win streak for East Tennessee State (12-12, 5-4) who pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, but could only convert them into 10 second-chance points.

Tuesday's result also marked the 275^th career victory for MU head coach Michelle Clark-Heard.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 50, East Tennessee State 45
RECORDS: Mercer 15-9 (5-4 SoCon); East Tennessee State 12-12 (5-4 SoCon)
LOCATION: Johnson City, Tenn. (Brooks Gymnasium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The squads split the game's first 12 points, but Talia Harris's triple with 4-1/2 minutes left in the opening quarter marked the first of seven-straight points that gave Mercer the lead for good. The Bucs mustered just eight points in the first stanza, and trailed 15-8 through 10 minutes of action.

2ND QUARTER

Buckets came at a premium in the second period as the sides combined for just 6-for-27 (.222) shooting, including a 2-for-11 effort from the hosts. The Bears pushed their lead out to double digits, 19-8, on Stephanie Utomi's layup just 20 seconds into the frame, and led by 15 points, 28-13, following Micah O'Dell's 3-pointer with 2:17 left before the break.

3RD QUARTER

East Tennessee State began to claw its way back into the game in the third quarter, out-rebounding the Bears, 14-8, while also forcing a trio of turnovers. The Bucs whittled their deficit down to single digits, 36-28, on a tip-in from Emmah Mcamis at the 3:55 mark, and made it a two-possession game 90 seconds later thanks to a layup from Paige Lyons.

4TH QUARTER

Mercer shot nearly 45 percent from the field in the final period, but East Tennessee State still went down fighting. Carmen Richardson's old-fashioned 3-point play with 3:11 left to play pulled the hosts to within three points, 42-39, but Mercer broke a nearly five-minute scoring drought on the other end of the court thanks to a Nahawa Diarra layup. East Tennessee State missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with seven ticks remaining, and Rania Curry sealed the outcome with two seconds left on a pair of free throws.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ariana Bennett scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half, including six of Mercer's 12 points in the fourth quarter.
+ Freshman Rania Curry flirted with her first career double-double, finishing the night with nine points and as many rebounds. She was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra recorded eight rebounds, four assists and a trio of steals to go along with seven points.

NOTABLES

+ East Tennessee State was held to its third-lowest point total of the season on Tuesday. The 27.6 field goal shooting by the Bucs marked their worst shooting night since connecting on just 23.3 percent of their field goals in a 53-41 home loss to Chattanooga on January 17.
+ Mercer snapped a two-game series losing streak with Tuesday's decision, while also registering its first win over the Bucs in Johnson City, Tenn., since Jan. 12, 2023. The Bears are now 13-12 all-time on the road in the series.
+ The Bears added five more blocks to their season total (85, 3.5/game) on Tuesday, and have now tallied multiple blocks in 16-straight games.

UP NEXT

Mercer will continue its four-game road trip on Saturday when it treks to Birmingham, Ala., to battle Samford (10-16, 3-6 SoCon) in the Pete Hanna Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

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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.