College notebook: Mercer women's team carries momentum into Southern Conference play
The Mercer women's basketball team has plenty of momentum as it heads into Southern Conference play Thursday.
The Bears (10-5) open conference play Thursday at UNC Greensboro (8-7) and continue their road trip Saturday at Western Carolina (4-10).
Mercer stretched its winning streak to four games by rallying to knock off Florida A&M on Monday. Trailing by 10 points entering the final quarter, the Bears outscored the Rattlers 19-5 to get the win.
Kahlia Lawrence scored 22 points for her 12th double-digit game and fifth 20-point game of the season. Lawrence also had nine rebounds, an assist and a steal.
"For the first three quarters, it felt like nothing was going Mercer's way, offensively or defensively," Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said after the game. "Florida A&M was knocking down 3s in the first half; they were getting every rebound. We weren't hitting shots, and then in the fourth quarter, we turned it up a notch. I couldn't be more proud of the way we came back from being 10 down.
"Just pure desire, guts and effort brought us back. It's a great, great win for our program."
STRONG STRAWBERRY
Jordan Strawberry scored a season-high 24 points Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to get the Mercer men's team past Chattanooga in Southern Conference play.
With starting point guard Phillip Leonard in early foul trouble, Strawberry stepped up, hitting 8-of-12 shots, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range, and he hit 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The sophomore matched his career high with four rebounds and had three assists and a steal.
The Mocs (13-2, 2-0 Southern Conference) jumped to a 29-7 lead, but the Bears (11-4, 1-1) slowly chipped away at that lead and got to within two points at 60-58 before Chattanooga pulled away.
The Bears stay on the road with a trip to The Citadel on Saturday.
"It was amazing how our guys fought in the second half, and that's the kind of resiliency they've shown all year," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "I'm fortunate to get to coach them every day. I know they're going to keep getting better, and we'll use this as a great experience for our guys to find a way to get it done the next time."
BOBCATS KEEP ROLLING
Georgia College's men's and women's teams both beat Georgia Southwestern on Monday to keep their early season rolls going.
The men's team is 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the Peach Belt Conference, while the women's team is 12-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Both teams return to action Thursday when they host Montevallo in a doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the women's teams.
SPLITTING A PAIR
Fort Valley State's women's team knocked off Central State on Monday, while the men's team continued to struggle with its seventh straight loss.
The men's team dropped to 2-12 overall and 0-4 in the SIAC, while the women's team is 3-10 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Both teams play Thursday at Spring Hill College.
This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 8:28 PM with the headline "College notebook: Mercer women's team carries momentum into Southern Conference play ."