Lawrence leads Mercer past Davidson

Kahlia Lawrence recorded a double-double and Mercer survived a so-so shooting night to pick up a 67-60 win Thursday over Davidson in non-conference women’s basketball.

The Wildcats outshot the Bears 44.4-34.7 percent from the floor and 83.3-55.6 percent at the free-throw line, but led for less than a minute the entire game.

Lawrence had 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Sydni Means added 11 points and seven assists. Four Bears had three steals each.

Justine Lyon had 22 for Davidson.

Mercer improved to 10-3 while Davidson fell to 2-10.

The Bears, off to their best start under head coach Susie Gardner, trailed for the final time at the 1:51 mark of the first quarter. They led 33-24 at halftime on Linnea Rosendal's 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Davidson wouldn't let the visitors pull away, and were within 46-45 at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter, and trailed by two after three.

KeKe Calloway got Mercer off to a good fourth-quarter start with a 3-pointer 34 seconds into the quarter, and Mercer's lead grew to 10 on Calloway's layup at the 7:11 mark.

Ally Welling's layup pulled the Wildcats to 59-56 with 4:25 left, but they got no closer.

Mercer returns home to host Paine at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Lawrence leads Mercer past Davidson."