ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A stifling Mercer defense that overwhelmed Wofford carried the Bears to a tournament title on Sunday, a 60-38 victory in the 2021 Ingles Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville. 
 
A dominating 28-0 run that bridged the second and third periods led No. 2 seed Mercer (19-6) to its third SoCon championship in four years under coach Susie Gardner and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. The Bears held No. 4 Wofford (13-11) scoreless for more than 13 minutes while turning a one-point lead into a 47-18 advantage. 
 
During that span – from 6:46 of the second quarter to 2:15 of the third period – the Terriers missed 21 consecutive shots and turned the ball over six times. 
 
Mercer's suffocating man-to-man caused much of that drought, and Bears' juniors Amoria Neal-Tysor and Jaron Dougherty provided the offense to control the game. 
 
Neal-Tysor, a 5-6 guard, had 16 points and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 25 points per game in three outings.  
 
Dougherty, a 6-0 forward, was dominant around the basket and finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
 
"We played really, really well today defensively, and I am so happy for this team," said Gardner, who improved her record in this tournament to 15-4 since Mercer joined the league in 2014-15.
 
"Our offense wasn't clicking in the first half, but our defense was good, so aggressive. Our defense was solid, and then Amoria and Jaron hit some shots." 
 
"Mercer was clearly the better team today," said Wofford coach Jimmy Garrity, who guided his team to its first title game in program history. "We couldn't get anything going offensively – we had back-to-back single digits (in the second and third quarters). Some of that was on us, but you have to give Mercer a lot of credit for the way they played."  
 
Dougherty's play and a stout defense staked Mercer to a 27-18 lead at halftime.
 
Dougherty had 12 points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, and the Bears muzzled the Terriers' offense. Wofford didn't score in the last six minutes, 46 seconds of the second period and committed four turnovers in that span. 
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
First Team
Jaron Dougherty, Mercer
Jada Lewis, Mercer
Amoria Neal-Tysor, Mercer (MOP)
Andrea Cournoyer, Samford
Lilly Hatton, Wofford
 
Second Team
Jakhyia Davis, ETSU
Tierra Hodges, Furman
Celena Taborn, Furman
Shannon Titus, Mercer
Helen Matthews, Wofford

Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Emily Stradling, Mercer
 
2021 Ingles Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale Brick
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville ? Asheville, N.C.
 
Thursday, March 4
Game 1 – No. 8 ETSU 68, No. 1 Samford 61
Game 2 – No. 4 Wofford 78, No. 5 UNCG 66
Game 3 – No. 2 Mercer 76, No. 7 Western Carolina 67
Game 4 – No. 6 Furman 58, No. 3 Chattanooga 40
 
Friday, March 5
Game 5 – No. 4 Wofford 75, No. 8 ETSU 64
Game 6 – No. 2 Mercer 81, No. 6 Furman 71
 
Sunday, March 7
Championship Game
Game 7 – No. 2 Mercer 60, No. 4 Wofford 38
 
NOTE: All times Eastern. All games to be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game also on Nexstar.