No. 7 seed Mercer 63, No. 2 seed Chattanooga 55

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer Bears pulled off the first upset of the Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. They claimed a 63-55 win over the regular-season tri-champion Chattanooga Mocs in the quarterfinals Thursday.
 
Amoria Neal-Tysor led the effort with 23 points. Jaron Dougherty was close behind with 19. Abbey Cornelius paced the Mocs with 15 points and 12 rebounds, ahead of Eboni Williams’ 14 and Bria Dial’s 13.
 
Mercer took a steady approach, taking the lead for good early in the second quarter on a Neal-Tysor mid-range jumper. The Bears limited the opposition to just six second-quarter points to carry a seven-point advantage, 27-20, into intermission.
 
Chattanooga’s offensive woes continued as the Bears opened up a 10-point cushion, 42-32, on another Neal-Tysor jumper. Cornelius’ 3-pointer after a Dial block with 1:03 to go in the third sparked the favorites, cutting the deficit to six. Neal-Tysor had another answer, however taking the Bears into the fourth up eight.
 
Every question the Mocs asked, Mercer answered. Three times Chattanooga pushed to within six, but each time a defensive stop proved elusive with the Bears holding strong for the win.
 
Mercer moves on to the semifinals, where it awaits the winner of ETSU-UNC Greensboro in Thursday’s final matchup. Friday’s semifinal game tips off at 1:15 p.m. in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, broadcasting on ESPN+.

RECORDS: No. 2 Chattanooga 11-18 | No. 7 Mercer 8-22
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Mercer is a perfect 6-0 in the quarterfinal round since joining the SoCon for the 2014-15 campaign. Chattanooga falls to 23-7. The two teams combined for the last seven tournament titles with the Mocs winning in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, while the Bears captured the last two in 2018 and 2019.
- The Bears took the season series with two wins in three meetings. Both teams won at home. The Mocs hold a 17-8 advantage in the 25th matchup between the two.
- The loss snaps Chattanooga’s season-long five-game win streak. It won seven of the last eight before Thursday. Mercer had lost four of five prior to the trip to Asheville.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- Mercer combined steady offense with stellar defense for the victory. It shot 45.1 percent with all but four shots coming inside the 3-point arc. It also limited the higher-seeded Mocs to 38.6 percent (22-for-57) overall including a meager 12.5 percent (2-for-16) from 3.
- Two 3-pointers made by the Mocs on Thursday tied a season low set in the regular-season finale win over ETSU.
- Shannon Titus moved into fourth place on the Bears’ single-season blocks list with 59 on the year. She had four Thursday.
 

No. 3 seed UNCG 57, No. 6 seed ETSU 47

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Greensboro used a stifling defensive effort in a 57-47 win over ETSU in the last quarterfinal matchup of Thursday’s Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. A dominant third quarter did the trick for the Spartans.
 
The Bucs led 25-23 at intermission, and it had the makings of a barnburner in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville. Tori Powell’s 3-pointer at 6:52 and layup at 4:56 book-ended an 11-0 UNCG spurt to take the lead and never look back.
 
Gabby Brown got the Bucs within eight, 39-31, but the Spartans surged further. Eight straight points ending with two Aja Boyd free throws doubled the advantage to 16, 47-31. All-in-all, it was a 14-point turnaround for the Spartans, who won the period 24-10.
 
The lead swelled to 14 and ebbed to eight, but it got no closer in the fourth. Boyd led all scorers with 20, while Nadine Soliman posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. E’Lease Stafford recorded 13 points to pace the Bucs, with Micah Scheetz adding 11 points and three steals.
 
UNCG moves on to the semifinals, taking on Mercer in Friday’s second semifinal. That game tips off at 1:15 p.m. in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, broadcasting on ESPN+.
 
RECORDS: UNC Greensboro 22-8 | ETSU 9-21
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- UNC Greensboro moves to the semifinals for the first time since 2018 when it lost a 54-52 heart-breaker to ETSU to go to the final.
- The Spartans are 13-14 in this round, while the Bucs are 14-14.
- ETSU leads the all-time series 19-17, while the Spartans have had the best of it in the tournament at 2-1. UNCG swept the three-game series this season.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- UNCG limited the Bucs’ offense to just 16-of-58 shooting (27.6 percent). It’s the third time the Spartans held an opponent to less than 30 percent and the second-lowest percentage behind UNC Asheville’s 21.5 percent (14-for-65), also in Asheville.
- ETSU owned the hustle stats with advantages in points off turnovers (18-8) and second-chance scoring (10-1).
- The Bucs were +10 in turnover margin (11-21), while the Spartans controlled the glass by 13 (41-28).
 
2020 Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Thursday, March 5
Game 1 – No. 1 Samford 77, No. 8 Western Carolina 62
Game 2 – No. 4 Furman 68, No. 5 Wofford, 54
Game 3 – No. 7 Mercer 63, No. 2 Chattanooga 55
Game 4 – No. 3 UNCG 57, No. 6 ETSU 47
 
^ - Denotes approximate game time. The first game on March 5 will have a firm start time. Each game thereafter will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the preceding game but will not start prior to the listed time.
 
Friday, March 6
Game 5 – No. 1 Samford vs. No. 4 Furman, 11 a.m.
Game 6 – No. 7 Mercer vs. No. 3 UNCG, 1:15 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 8
Championship Game
Game 7 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 12 p.m.
 
NOTE: All times Eastern. All games to be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game also on Nexstar.