Mercer seeking back-to-back SoCon titles as Bears square off against Furman in title game
The Mercer women’s basketball team is one victory away from winning back-to-back Southern Conference titles and punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The Bears rolled through the first two rounds, beating Western Carolina 85-46 and Samford 65-35. Star senior point guard Amoria Neal-Tysor has been the driving force for the frist two games. Neal-Tysor followed up a career-high 34 points in the tournament opener with a 20-point and 12-rebound performance in the semifinal.
“We’re really pleased with our efforts today,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said in the postgame press conference. “Samford is a really good basketball team with one of the best scorers in the conference and one of the best post players in the conference. We knew our defense was going to be key.”
Next up, Mercer will face the No. 3 seed Furman, which knocked off Wofford 64-59 in its semifinal game after surviving in overtime in the quarterfinals against Chattanooga.
Mercer’s lone loss in the conference came at the hands of Paladins on Jan. 20 in a 69-66 loss at home. The Bears have since reeled off 11 straight wins, including six by double digit and a win over Furman on the road on Feb. 19. The Bears won 71-64 behind a 22-point performance from freshman Erin Houpt.
The Paladins are led by the SoCon player of the year Tierra Hodges. Hodges averages 18 points per game for Furman. In the two games against the Bears this season, Hodges scored 26 points in the first meeting and 18 in the second.
Neal-Tysor said the regular season results don’t matter with just one game left in the tournament.
“I think it’s a different mindset coming in here because it’s a new season,” she said. “Everything we’ve done, everything we’ve worked hard for, here it shows.”
Neal-Tysor, alongside veterans Shannon Titus and Jaron Doughtery, has paved the way for the Bears to repeat as conference champions. A win would send Mercer to its fourth tournament appearance in the last five seasons.
Before this recent run under Gardner, the Bears had never made the NCAA tournament. Gardner will lean on an experienced roster.
“I think where we have experience is in Amoria (Neal-Tysor), Jaron (Dougherty), and Shannon Titus, who have actually been to Asheville and won a few championships,” Gardner said after the win over Western Carolina. “Their leadership, whether it’s in the locker room, on the bus, in the team room, in the hotel room, whatever they’re talking about when I’m not around, is what propels us.”