Mercer women hit the road to finish regular season
Mercer women’s basketball head coach Susie Gardner likes the way her team is playing heading down the stretch of the regular season.
That will be tested with three games on the road going into the Southern Conference Tournament. Mercer opens its closing stretch at 7 p.m. at Wofford on Thursday. Next up is a trip to Furman on Saturday and the final regular-season game at Samford on Feb. 25.
Mercer beat all three teams at home earlier this season.
“We’ve got three tough road games and three opponents that challenge us every single time,” Gardner said. “Our goal is to just be playing our best basketball, and right now, I’m very pleased with how we’re playing. Our intensity level, our defense is good. Our shots are coming back. Right now, I’m really pleased.”
Mercer shared the regular-season conference title last season with Chattanooga only to lose to Chattanooga in the conference tournament championship game. The Bears are 20-5 overall and 9-2 in the conference, a half-game behind Chattanooga.
”These next three games are crucial to our seeding in the tournament and our focus on getting to the NCAA Tournament, so we have to be focused,” Mercer junior point guard Sydni Means said.
Tough stretch
Mercer’s men’s basketball team has lost three of its past four games. The Bears have dropped to 12-15 overall and 6-8 in the conference.
Mercer plays its third straight road game at 1 p.m. on Saturday against The Citadel. The Bears beat the Bulldogs 82-66 in their first meeting.
More basketball
▪ The Fort Valley State men’s and women’s teams head to rival Albany State for a doubleheader at 6 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up the regular season. The Fort Valley State men are 13-12 overall and 10-5 in the SIAC. They beat Albany State 74-70 in the first meeting. The women are 7-16 and 6-8 and lost 79-71 to Albany State in the first meeting.
▪ The Middle Georgia State men (11-12) travel to Dalton State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, while the women (7-13) travel to Brenau at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Bringing momentum home
Georgia College’s baseball team won the third game of its series with Tampa, which was ranked second in NCAA Division II, on Sunday after losing the first two games. The Bobcats (4-2) host Embry-Riddle in a three-game series this weekend. The series starts at 6 p.m. on Friday.
A-Sun honor
Mercer’s Meghan Segreti was named the A-Sun Lacrosse Player of the Year on Tuesday after a big game Saturday against Presbyterian. In Mercer's 23-13 win, Segreti set career highs in goals and points, while tying her career high of two assists.
Soccer hire
Mercer women’s soccer head coach Tony Economopoulos announced the addition of Mike Melton as an assistant coach. Melton comes to Mercer from Xavier, where he spent three seasons as an assistant.
“I am very excited to be adding Mike to our staff,” Economopoulos said. “He is a passionate coach who cares deeply about the team and all the players on it.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Mercer women hit the road to finish regular season."