Mercer women knock off Chattanooga
The Mercer women's basketball team did something Thursday night that no Southern Conference team had done in more than two years -- beat Chattanooga.
The Mocs' 52-game conference winning streak (it was 61 including tournament games) was stopped by Mercer at Hawkins Arena with a 67-44 Bears win.
Mercer improves to 14-5 overall and is the only remaining undefeated team in conference play at 4-0. Chattanooga falls to 13-6 and 4-1.
Chattanooga's last conference loss before Thursday was Jan. 7, 2013 against Elon.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Kahlia Lawrence: The sophomore finished with 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor, and she added seven rebounds.
Sydni Means: The sophomore had 12 points and three assists with no turnovers.
KeKe Calloway/Alex Williams: Calloway had 10 points and Williams eight to spark the Bears' bench.
TURNING POINT
The game was tight early with the Bears leading 21-19 in the second quarter, but Mercer went on an 11-0 run to take a 32-19 lead and had control of the game from there. That run included a 3-pointer from Calloway, a conventional three-point play from Lawrence and a 3-pointer from Linnea Rosendal.
OBSERVATIONS
Defense on point: Mercer's defense was strong throughout, holding the Mocs to 37.2 percent shooting and forcing 14 turnovers. Chattanooga managed just five points in the fourth quarter.
Fluid on offense: The Bears were sharp on offense after the first quarter, and they shot 45.8 percent with just eight turnovers.
Dominant on the boards: Mercer had a 38-23 edge on the boards and had seven players with at least three rebounds.
WORTH MENTIONING
Historic start: Mercer is 4-0 in conference play for the first time in the program's NCAA era.
Their own streak: The Bears have won eight straight games, their longest streak since they won 12 straight in January and February of the 2012-13 season.
THEY SAID IT
Mercer head coach Susie Gardner on the Bears' performance: "We played a near-flawless game. We played hard the whole time. We have had quarters where we haven't played so well, so I knew we could not afford against at UT-Chattanooga team to have a letdown at all. We played one of the best games that a Mercer team that I've coached has played since I've been here. Things went our way. Balls bounced our way. We shot the ball well. We rebounded the ball well, we outrebounded them. We had a big fourth quarter, I think it was 16-5. I was really nervous about Chattanooga coming back in the fourth quarter because they're so well-coached, and they're such a good team. But (Thursday) was our night, and we had a good game."
Lawrence on the win: "We think we're a pretty good team. Like I said, they're a good team, as well. But we didn't think for a moment that we were going to come in and lose at all. We knew that we could play with them, and it was we wanted it more. Who's going to be tougher?"
Lawrence on getting ready for Saturday's game against East Tennessee State: "We're going to enjoy the win for about an hour or so, but we're preparing for ETSU really soon and just keep the same focus that we had (Thursday), and we'll be pretty good."
Gardner on her team's strong play: "We have some special players. Kahlia is one of the special players that can score. I thought Syndi had an exceptional second half. I don't think she had any points in the first half and had a great second half with 12 points. Alex took the ball to the rim. KeKe came in and gave us a huge spark off the bench. And Brittnee Broadway came in also; everyone that played Rachel Selph didn't score any points, but she played hard and had some big rebounds for us. It was one of one of those games that kind of everything did just kind of go our way."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Mercer hosts East Tennessee State on Saturday.
This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Mercer women knock off Chattanooga ."