Mercer women rout Winthrop

The Mercer women’s basketball team scored 42 points in the first half on its way to a 71-48 rout of Winthrop on Sunday.

The Bears, who host Florida State on Wednesday, improve to 9-2.

Kahlia Lawrence scored 27 points as the Bears earned their fourth road win of the season. Mercer scored 24 points in the second quarter to build a 42-14 lead at the half.

“I was pleased with the 42-14 halftime score. What we talked about at halftime was showing some maturity and to keep taking it to them in the third quarter, which we did not do,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said. “It was nice to have Kahlia scoring again. This might be the first game all season that we’ve had more turnovers than assists, which is very out of character for us.”

Mercer’s 9-2 start matches its best since the 1980-81 team also went 9-2. It is Mercer’s best start under Gardner.

After missing the past six games because of injury, Alex Williams had seven rebounds. The Bears also played with center Rachel Selph for the first time this season. Selph missed the first 10 games because of injury.

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Mercer women rout Winthrop."