ATLANTA, Ga. – Kahlia Lawrence and Linnea Rosendal scored 22 and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Mercer University women’s basketball team on Thursday evening, but the Bears were overpowered by Georgia Tech, 73-56, in the first round of the WNIT.
Georgia Tech opened the game with a 9-3 run, but Mercer quickly answered with a 6-1 run to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to one, 10-9. After a Georgia Tech layup, Sydni Means hit back-to-back layups to give Mercer its’ first lead of the game, 12-11, with 2:52 left in the first quarter. Georgia Tech outscored Mercer 4-2 in the final minutes to hold onto a 16-15 advantage at the end of the first period. Other than a Georgia Tech free throw, neither team scored in the first four minutes of the second quarter, sparked by a three-pointer with 5:56 left in the half, Georgia Tech embarked on a 10-4 run that put the Yellow Jackets up 27-19 with 1:24 on the clock. Each team hit one more jumper and Georgia Tech entered the locker room with a 29-21 advantage.
The teams traded baskets for the first three minutes of the second half before Georgia Tech scored five unanswered points to take a 40-28 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter. After another two minutes of back-and-forth, Mercer went on a 14-5 run to close out the third period and cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 48-44 with 10 minutes left in the game. Georgia Tech used a 6-0 spurt at the beginning of the fourth quarter to stretch its lead back to 10, 54-44, with 8:05 to play. The teams battled for the next five minutes, but with 2:39 remaining, the Yellow Jackets started a 12-3 run that lasted the duration of the game and moved the final score to 76-53.
“It was a great opportunity,” said head coach Susie Gardner. “We played well and we played with them in the first quarter, not so well in the second quarter, cut it to four in the fourth quarter and had a chance. (Roddreka) Rogers outwomaned us; she had 15 points and 15 rebounds and she was tougher than us inside. I’m glad we fought back and cut it to four, but it’s disappointing because as good of a season as it was, we let the last two games of the year slip through our fingers.”
Mercer finishes the season at 24-9 and Georgia Tech moves to 20-12.