No. 1 Mercer 64, No. 5 Furman 50
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Top-seeded Mercer used a strong opening to the fourth quarter to secure a 64-50 win over fifth-seed Furman on Friday at the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. The Bears’ 12-0 run broke open a three-point contest.
Sydni Means led all scorers with 25 points, tying her career high. Kahlia Lawrence added 18 points and seven rebounds in a winning cause. Holli Wilkins paced Furman with 18 points.
Mercer led 43-40 through three quarters. The Bears held Furman scoreless for nearly seven minutes to extend their margin to 15, 55-40, on two Rachel Selph free throws. The Paladins went eight straight possessions without a point in the period.
It was a defensive battle. Mercer managed to shoot just 37.1 percent, but it held the Paladins to 30.9 percent. Furman struggled inside the arc, making only eight of its two-point efforts (8-for-30, 26.7 percent) thanks in large part to Selph’s career-best seven blocks.
Means added five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Selph had a game-high nine boards. The Bears only turned the ball over two times and converted 16 offensive rebounds into an 18-6 advantage in second chance points.
Kelsey Ellis and Whitney Bunn chipped in nine points apiece for the Paladins. Ellis and Cierra Carter grabbed eight rebounds.
Mercer awaits the winner of Chattanooga-Samford in Friday’s second semifinal. Sunday’s championship game airs on ESPN3 at 1 p.m.
No. 2 Chattanooga 49, No. 3 Samford 41
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The second-seeded Chattanooga Mocs out-defended the No. 3 seed Samford Bulldogs in a 49-41 win in Friday’s second semifinal at the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. Both squads held their opponent to less than 36-percent shooting for the afternoon.
Chattanooga’s Jasmine Joyner narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks. Samford was paced by Kassidy Blevins, who tallied 18 off the bench, nine of which led a key third-quarter charge.
The Mocs came out of the break with a comfortable 29-18 advantage. It was 35-23 when the Bulldogs outscored UTC 15-2 over the remaining 7:39 of the period to take a 38-37 lead into the break. All nine of Blevins’ points capped the spurt before the final frame.
Queen Alford got the Mocs back on track with a layup at 7:25 to wrestle the lead back for the Scenic City ladies, 39-38. It was extended to five, 43-38, when Taylor Reece drilled a 3-pointer to get Samford within two, 43-41, with 5:07 to go.
It was all Chattanooga from there. It clamped down defensively, limiting the Bulldogs to 0-for-5 shooting and forcing four turnovers in their final nine possessions.
Alford tallied 14 points for the Mocs, while Alicia Payne added eight points, four assists and four steals. Amara Meyers chipped in 11 for the Bulldogs.
The championship game is set with regular-season co-champions Mercer and Chattanooga squaring off for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The two teams split the season series, with the Bears winning 67-44 in Macon, Ga., on Jan. 21, and the Mocs holding serve on their home court in equally impressive fashion, 67-45 on Feb. 20.
They take a day off before meeting Sunday on ESPN3 at 1 p.m.
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