Mercer women cruise to rout of Faulkner
Mercer's women served up a display of solid basketball in all phases of the game Sunday afternoon to blitz Faulkner 86-33 at Hawkins Arena.
The Bears (6-3) shelved their normal zone defense for a man-to-man, and it led to a host of mistakes and missed shots by the overmatched Eagles (4-5) that fueled the offense. Mercer limited the Eagles to 23.3 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers on the way to the romp.
Mercer shot 47.7 for the game, including 43.5 percent on 3-pointers, as all 13 players scored. The Bears trailed only once, 1-0, before scoring the game's next 11 points.
The lead hit 20 points in the first minute of the second quarter and 30 less than three minutes later. The Bears pushed the cushion to 40 at the 6:49 mark of the third quarter and 50 off the first basket of the final quarter on the way to its largest at 54 twice in the closing minutes.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Keke Calloway: The freshman scored a career-high 21 points off the bench. The former All-State player at Mary Persons was 7-for-9 from the floor, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, to lead the Bears.
Linnea Rosendal and Kahlia Lawrence: They each contributed 13 points for the Bears while Lawrence added seven rebounds.
TURNING POINT
Mercer took command with a run of 18 straight points to turn a 21-7 lead with 44.2 seconds left in the first quarter into a 39-7 margin with 4:11 left in the second quarter. Calloway scored the final six points of the spurt on two foul shots and consecutive 3-pointers.
OBSERVATIONS
No easy shots: Faulkner struggled to get off any kind of shot, let alone open ones against the Bears' defense. The Eagles missed 14 straight shots at one point during a span in the first and second quarters.
Tough drought: Faulkner went nearly 12 minutes between field goals when Mercer ran away late in the first quarter to midway into the second. The Eagles never scored on two straight possessions and only once were they able to score consecutive points, that coming on a free throw and 3-pointer on either side of a timeout with 3:30 left in the game.
WORTH MENTIONING
Sharing the ball: Mercer had 31 baskets and all but seven came off assists. Sydni Means led the way by tying a season-high with seven.
Starting hot: The Bears hit six of their first nine 3-pointers.
Strong first half: Calloway was flawless from the floor in the first half, hitting all five of her field goal attempts (3-for-3 on 3-pointers) and both free throws on the way to 15 points.
Taking care of the ball: The Bears suffered only seven turnovers.
THEY SAID IT
Mercer head coach Susie Gardner: "It was a good game for us to have after a week of exams. Everybody played some good minutes and contributed. We're typically a zone team, but we decided to start in a man, and it worked pretty well. We held them to 12 points in first half and six of those were free throws. The defensive effort created some transition opportunities."
Calloway, whose previous high with the Bears was 14 against Georgia: "I was focusing on working hard on the defensive end and let it carry over to the offense. I felt good and my shots were going in. Seeing the first couple going in the hole helped my confidence."
Gardner on Calloway's game-best offensive effort transitioning from her defense: "Keke shot the ball exceptionally well, but what I was most excited about was we'd talk to her all year about playing better defense, and her defensive effort was there (Sunday)."
Gardner on her team's assist total, one better than its previous high of 23: "We haven't had that in our program. We don't have the players who are playing one-on-one basketball so much. Now, we're moving more and looking for teammates, and I'm very excited about that."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Mercer visits No. 9 Florida State at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Mercer women cruise to rout of Faulkner ."