Women Set to Make Run for A-Sun Title

 - J. Andrew Lockwood -
Senior Editor of The Bear Zone/ Sports Columnist
james.andrew.lockwood@student.mercer.edu

In Janell Jones’s second year at Mercer, the learning curve has been steep.  Unlike last year though, this learning curve has everything to do with winning ball games…and big ones at that.  After a final regular-season victory against ETSU 90-79, the Bears (16-13, 12-8) claimed a #4 seed in the conference to play a struggling #5 Stetson program (8-21, 5-15).  Looking ahead in the bracket, a win for Mercer would pit them against #1 ETSU (18-10, 16-4), a team they’ve already beaten twice during the regular season. 

            Mercer’s improvable run in the Atlantic Sun is all new to many on the bench, including a core group of seniors who saw their team struggle through the past two seasons with only nine wins.  The lack of experience in winning key games shows at times, especially when the Bears dropped contests to USC-Upstate and Campbell in which they were heavily favored.  However, the thrill of victory over league contenders Belmont and ETSU helps you take those losses in stride. 

            After the season finale at ETSU, a game in which Mercer had five players score in double digits, head coach Janell Jones was elated sharing with MercerBears.com after the game, “We had good composure tonight.  We were talking and communicating on the floor and everyone was on the same page.”  The second year coach went on to say, “We trusted each other and never panicked.  LaToya Jackson was running the show for us today, finding the right people and making the right decisions for us all game.  Dominique Chism just played a tremendous game for us tonight as well: she really hit some big-time shots.”

            While Jones focused on the positives of her team after the game, she was already thinking about next week, remarking, “This win honestly has nothing to do with next week’s tournament.  It starts all over again next week.  Anyone can beat anyone, so we have to go out and do what we have to do.”

            If, in fact, Mercer does what it’s supposed to do, we could possibly see the four-win Bears of last season in this year’s A-Sun Championship game.  The pieces to the puzzle are there.  LaToya Jackson, the team’s undisputed leader, scored 19 points and had four assists in the win against ETSU.  Dominique Chism added 17 points in her final regular season performance and Courtney Ford, Natasha Doh, and Cristin Seymour all had above average offensive performances against the Lady Bucs. 

            For the first time in a long time, the beginning of March is an exciting time in the women’s basketball program.  The turnaround of this program is nothing short of amazing and a quick start in the tournament could propel Mercer to postseason locations never seen before.