No. 1 Mercer 75, No. 8 UNCG 63
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The top-seeded Mercer Bears started slowly but finished strong in a 75-63 win over No. 8 seed UNCG on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. All-freshman selection KeKe Calloway tallied a career-high 22 in the triumph.
The Bears took control of the game in the second quarter. Down, 23-18 early in the period, they outscored the Spartans 22-2 to take a 40-25 halftime advantage. Callaway scored 10 of her game-high 22 to key the rally.
UNCG scored the first 11 points of the game, leading for the opening 13 minutes before Mercer’s pivotal spurt. Once the lead reached double digits, it never dropped below 11 again.
The Spartans were paced by Jade Scaife’s 15 points and career-high-tying 15 rebounds. Shanese Harris and Lucy Mason scored 13 apiece.
Sydni Means had a tremendous overall stat line of 10 points, eight assists and six steals. Rachel Selph added 10 points and five boards.
The second quarter was the difference. The Bears captured it 24-4, limiting UNCG to a 1-for-13 performance (7.7 percent) from the floor.
Callaway scored 15 of her 22 from the 3-point line, hitting a season-high 5-of-10. Mercer forced 24 Spartan turnovers, collecting 16 steals with a 28-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Bears face the winner of (4) ETSU and (5) Furman in Friday’s first semifinal matchup. The game airs on ESPN3 at 11 a.m.
No. 5 Furman 71, No. 4 ETSU 68
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The fifth-seeded Furman Paladins moved on the semifinals of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale with a 71-68 win over No. 4 ETSU on Thursday. Whitney Bunn (26) and Holli Wilkins (22) combined for 48 points in the victory.
It went right down to the wire. Tiara Wood’s layup with 32 seconds gave Furman a six-point lead, 69-63. Chandler Christopher answered with a layup 20 seconds later. Her and-one attempt came off, but Sadasia Tipps grabbed the offensive board.
Shamauria Bridges drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go to cut the lead to one, 69-68. Two Kelsey Ellis free throws made it a three-point game with just over six ticks left.
Tianna Tarter hurried the ball up the floor. She came off a screen but bobbled the ball a bit as she loaded to shoot. Her 3-point attempt went off the rim as the Paladins advanced.
Tarter led the Bucs with 25 points, while Bridges and Christopher chipped in 20 and 13, respectively. Tarter added 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Despite the see-saw nature of a game that saw eight lead changes, Furman rarely trailed, leading for 32:34 of a possible 40 minutes. The margin was as high 13, 21-8 with 2:01 to go in the first quarter, on an Ellis triple.
The Bucs whittled away at the lead until taking it away, 32-31, on two Tipps free throws. Wilkins’ lay-in sent Furman to the locker room up one, 33-32.
ETSU kept the momentum as Bridges jumper put her team up five, 43-38, midway through the third. The Paladins went on an 18-3 run to get the lead back to 10, 56-46.
The Paladins meet No. 1 seed Mercer at 11 a.m. Friday. The game airs on ESPN3.
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