Balanced Mercer shuts down Wofford
Balance and defense were the key words for the Mercer women’s team Saturday in its Southern Conference game with Wofford at Hawkins Arena.
The Bears had only one player score in double figures – sophomore KeKe Calloway – but got plenty of contributions and were stingy on defense throughout. The result was a 54-39 victory, which is Mercer’s fourth straight win and improves its record to 16-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
The Terriers drop to 12-8 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
Three who mattered
Calloway: The sophomore led the Bears with 13 points, hitting 6-of-15 from the floor. She added eight rebounds.
Kahlia Lawrence: The junior, who played with a bandage over her eye after taking an elbow in practice this week, scored nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Means: The Bears’ point guard continues to see the floor beautifully, finishing with nine assists and just two turnovers. She also had five steals.
Observations
Controlling the action: The win marked the second straight game and the third in the past four that Mercer hasn’t trailed. Saturday’s game was tied twice early.
Sharing the ball: Calloway was the only Mercer player in double figures, but Alex Williams joined Lawrence with nine points, while Amanda Thompson added eight. Rachel Selph had six off the bench.
Shutting them down: Wofford made only 15-of-53 from the floor (28.3 percent), and the Terriers were 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Bit of a struggle: Mercer was off with its shooting Saturday, hitting only 38.1 percent overall (24-of-63) and 16.7 percent on 3-pointers (3-of-18).
Worth mentioning
Owning the series: Mercer leads its series with Wofford 7-1 and has won all six games since joining the Southern Conference.
They said it
Mercer head coach Susie Gardner on her team’s defense: “We did not shoot the ball very well, especially in the third quarter, but we take a lot of pride in our defense. We knew they were a good shooting basketball team, and we were able to get out to them and kind of fly around and spread it out. We mixed it up man and zone a little bit, which was different for us, which was good, I thought, with one day prep. But I’m really pleased with our defense and our rebounding.”
Calloway on her offensive plan: “Coach has been in my ear all week about being aggressive, so I’m just trying to focus on being more aggressive and have some carryover in the game.”
What’s next?
Mercer is off until hosting Samford on Saturday.
This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Balanced Mercer shuts down Wofford."