Eagles Too Consistent for Mercer

Adam Hunt
Sports Reporter / Columnist

Having romped to victory over Belmont last week with a near-perfect performance, Mercer’s women’s basketball team failed to find the same form against a disciplined Georgia Southern.

The 76-45 loss marked the end of a four-game winning streak for the Bears who now have a 4-3 overall record.

The Eagles took the initiative right from the tip-off in front of a vocal University Center crowd, racing to 7-0 inside three minutes thanks to field goals from Candice Ivy and J’Lisia Ogburn.

LaToya Jackson then burst into action to pull Mercer back into the game. The experienced senior guard made a lay-up and drained a free-throw, before sophomore Neicey Lewis buried a shot from distance to make the score 9-6.

But the away team began to race away thanks to three-point efforts from Carolyn Whitney and Jamie Navarro, extending their lead to 11 at the second media time-out.

Georgia Southern freshman Meredyth Frye also put together a personal 5-0 run with a field goal and three-pointer to pit the score at 26-8 with 8:45 left on the clock until half-time.

Spurred on by head coach Janell Jones to restore parity, the Bears committed numbers forward and steadily clawed their way into contention.

Senior guard Courtney Ford, who was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week for the third-straight week coming into the game, made a running jump-shot to put Mercer back on the board.

But the Eagles had other ideas, and a combination of their relentless offense and consistent numbers on rebounds pushed them to 36-23 at the interval.

Except for one made free-throw from the hands of the Eagles’ Ogburn, both teams struggled to muster any creativity and remained scoreless from the floor to start the second half.

However, Mercer came off worse, needing nearly 13 minutes to notch just 10 points and facing a 54-33 deficit with only seven minutes left until the buzzer.

In the closing stages, Georgia Southern further consolidated their lead as Samantha Williams drained consecutive treys within 40 seconds of each other to open up a 30 point gap.

To their credit, the Bears kept plugging away and every eligible player made an appearance; for some it was crucial game-time that may prove important later in the season.

Mercer’s shooting turned out to be their undoing throughout the game. The Bears shot a mere 26 percent from the field and 19 percent from 3-point range and had just one player score in double figures – Jackson with 16 points.

Georgia Southern, on the other hand, shot 50 percent from the field and had four players score 10 points apiece. Furthermore, the Eagles outrebounded Mercer by a considerable 47-29 margin.

“We didn’t come out with a lot of energy, and they did,” reflected Coach Jones. “Their shots fell early, and we struggled all night, and we didn’t play good enough defense to get us back in the game. We didn’t play well on either end of the floor.”

The Bears will be looking to rediscover their swagger quickly as they face a tough upcoming series of away games after finals week.

Mercer’s six-game road trip begins on Dec. 19 at Oklahoma State and they return to conference action against Jacksonville in early January.