Mercer 83, Troy 68
MACON, Ga. – Precious Bridges scored a game-high 26 points to lead a quartet of double-digit scorers as the Mercer women’s basketball team used a dominant first half to rout Troy, 83-68, in the first round of the WBI Tournament on Thursday night.
Teanna Robinson notched her fourth double-double of the season with a season-high-tying 17 rebounds and 14 points; she also had three blocks and an assist. Kahlia Lawrence also tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in addition to three assists and two steals. Bridges added five rebounds, three assists and a steal on the night.
Briana Williams rounded out the double-figure efforts with 13 points and had two rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Alicia Williams recorded eight points, three rebounds, a team-high four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Alex Williams contributed six rebounds and three points, while Sydni Means dished out three assists and grabbed a steal and a rebound. Brittnee Broadway had two rebounds and an assist, Madi Mitchell snagged two rebounds and added an assist, and Kayla Potts pulled down a rebound of her own.
The teams traded baskets for the first 6:17 of the second period, before the Bears embarked on an 8-0 spurt that gave them a 60-34 advantage with 12:27 remaining in the game. After a couple of baskets for each team, the Trojans went on a 15-0 run that lasted exactly three minutes and cut Mercer’s lead to 64-50 with 7:41 to play.
Another back-and-forth ensued for the next five minutes, as Mercer held onto at least a 12 point lead at all times. The Bears added some more breathing room with seven consecutive free throws that gave them an 83-61 advantage with 1:42 on the clock. Troy scored the final seven points of the game to put the score at 83-68.
On the night, Mercer hit 43.3 percent of its shots from the field and connected on 87 percent of its trips to the charity stripe. Troy recorded a 33.3 field goal percentage and went 10-for-14 at the free throw line.
The Bears started strong, surging to a 25-4 lead in the first 10 minutes of play. During Mercer’s hot streak, Troy was just 2-18 from the field and turned the ball over five times.
The Trojans finally found the basket and used a 12-3 run to cut Mercer’s lead to 28-16 with 7:04 left in the first half. The final minutes of the half were slower, but Mercer outscored Troy to stretch its lead to 42-25 before intermission.
Mercer connected on 47.4 percent of its shots in the first half, including 50 percent from behind the three-point line. The Bears tied a season high of 42 first half points, which was originally set against Georgia Southern, who is in the Sun Belt Conference with Troy. After a slow start, Troy improved to 31.4 percent shooting in the half.
Next up, Mercer will host Marshall on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m. at Hawkins Arena in the second round of the WBI Tournament.
NC State 73, ETSU 58
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The ETSU women’s basketball team saw its 2014-15 season come to a close on Thursday evening following a 73-58 defeat to the North Carolina State Wolfpack inside Brooks Gym in the first round of the 2015 Women’s National Invitation Postseason Tournament (WNIT).
The Bucs end the season at 21-12 overall, while the Wolfpack moves to 17-14 on the season. The Blue & Gold’s 21 wins this year is the most for the program since 2009-10 when that team won a program-record 23 games. Tonight’s non-league postseason appearance is also the team’s first since 2010 and marks the first time ever hosting a postseason WNIT contest.
The two teams played a tightly-contested first half featuring three ties and nine lead changes through the first 10 minutes. ETSU pulled ahead by four points, 18-14, with 9:34 to go in the period, and stayed ahead over the remaining nine minutes. A lay-in from NC State’s Jennifer Mathurin with 23 seconds remaining in the period brought the score to 25-25 as the two teams went into halftime deadlocked.
The Blue & Gold executed an impressive defensive performance in the first half; limiting its opponent to 27 percent shooting, but were unable to convert consistently on its offensive end. To begin the second period, the two squads traded baskets to begin before the Wolfpack pulled ahead. A 7-0 run from the 19:03 to 16:42 marks brought the score to 34-27. Over the next six minutes, ETSU rallied to cut its deficit to 41-40 on a junior guard Chandler Christopher free throw with 10:18 to go. With the near 1,500 fans in attendance enthused, NC State responded under pressure with an 11-4 surge during the next four minutes to lead by a game-high eight points, 52-44. Desperate for points down the stretch, the Bucs were unable to convert, while the visitors hit their offensive stride. A subsequent 13-4 burst by the Wolfpack from the 6:53 to 3:10 marks essentially put the game out of reach amidst the home team’s offensive struggles.
NC State guard Miah Spencer scored a game-best 23 points and was joined in double figures by teammates Len’Nique Brown and Dominique Wilson with 14 and 12, respectively. Senior forward Serena Clark paced the Bucs with her 11th double-double of the season and 24th of her career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Christopher and senior guard Cara Bowling each added 11 points.
The Wolfpack bounced back in the second half with 50 percent (13-of-26) shooting to bring their game total to 37 percent. After failing to knock down a three-pointer in the opening period on 14 tries, the visitors were able to convert in the second with six makes beyond the arc. NC State outrebounded ETSU, 43-32, for the game and turned 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. The Wolfpack also scored 32 points in the paint and turned the Bucs over 16 times resulting in 12 points.
The Blue & Gold shot the ball at a 40-percent clip for the game, but struggled from downtown with only 3-of-19 conversions. The home team was most effective in the paint with 28 points and got 22 points from its bench following struggles from its starting five. ETSU did assist on 11 of its 21 made field goals and got 10 second-chance points.
McNeese State 87, Furman 70
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Jalyn Johnson scored 16 points, including 11 at the free throw line, and McNeese State feasted at the charity stripe en route to an 87-70 victory over Furman in WBI Tournament first round action Thursday evening at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
WIth the win McNeese State (18-13) advances into the tournament's quarterfinal round where it will face Louisiana-Lafayette. The loss concludes the season for Furman (19-14).
The Cowgirls converted 26-of-33 free throws, including 20-of-27 in the second half, and posted a 50-35 rebounding advantage to keep Furman in check and notch the win.
Victoria Rachal and Allison Baggett chipped in 13 points apiece, and Amber Donnes rounded out McNeese State's double figure attack with 11 points.
Holli Wilkins led all scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Whitney Bunn added 12 points. Kelsey Ellis and Cierra Carter chipped in 10 points each. Sarah Durdaller combined nine points with a game high 10 rebounds.
The Paladins trailed 51-33 three minutes into the second half but battled back to get within seven points at 70-63 following a Wilkins 3-pointer with 5:52 remaining.
McNeese State squashed the comeback bid, however, answering Furman with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take total control. Two Johnson free throws at the 4:07 mark capped the run to put the Cowgirls up, 78-63.
Furman led only at the start of the game following a Wilkins 3-pointer, but McNeese responded with a 9-0 spurt to grab the lead, which it never surrendered.
A 12-2 Cowgirl run, finished off by a Hannah Cupit jump shot midway through the first half, pushed McNeese State's lead to 25-14 and helped propel MSU to 42-29 advantage heading into halftime.
Both teams posted near identical shooting performances from the field, with the Cowgirls canning 28-of-69 atempts (40.6%) to the Paladins' 27-of-67 (40.3%). The difference in the game was at the line, where McNeese fashioned a 17-point advantage.