MACON, Ga. - Mercer ended the game with a 20-4 run to erase a 12-point Southeastern Louisiana lead as the Bears defeated the Lady Lions, 64-60, in non-conference women's basketball action in the Mercer University Center on Friday.
Southeastern dropped to 3-3 overall with the loss. Mercer (3-5) snapped a five-game losing streak and out-rebounded the Lady Lions, 46-39. Southeastern has won the rebounding battle in all its victories this season and been out-rebounded in all its losses.
Southeastern head coach Lori Davis Jones was disappointed in her team's effort.
"This was a very winnable game tonight and we couldn't put them away when we had a chance," Jones commented. "We have to do a better job rebounding and hopefully we learned a lesson today. Our young team has to understand the importance of finishing an opponent when they are on the ropes.
"I thought Jameica (Gross) had an outstanding individual performance tonight, but the positives in a game like this are hard to spot," Jones added. "We have some talented players and we played well in spurts, but we are still struggling to find consistency. Until we can play consistently at a high level, we are going to continue to have some problems."
Gross, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., posted her first career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Lions. Junior forward Kristy Carlin added 12 points, while senior guard Brooke Necaise chipped in 10 points.
LaToya Jackson and Gabrielle Essex led the way with 13 points for Mercer. Bear senior guard Sarah Russell added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Trailing by one at the half, Southeastern came out of the locker room on fire, opening the second half with a 13-0 run. A jumper by Gross put Southeastern up, 41-29, with 17:38 left.
Mercer came back with a run of their own over the next three minutes. Essex drilled a three with 14:39 left to pull the Bears within three, 43-40, and cap a 11-2 Bear rally.
Southeastern came back with more energy over the next five minutes. Consecutive buckets by sophomore Zevy Ivory gave the Lady Lions a 56-44 lead with 9:17 remaining. Southeastern would score only four more points the rest of the way.
Mercer chipped away at the lead gradually until Essex notted the score at 58-58 with a three with 2:23 left.
After both teams swapped unsuccessful trips, Jackson scored on a drive to the hoop to put Mercer up, 60-58 with 39 seconds remaining. Gross missed a jumper on the ensuing possession and Russell hit two free throws to ice the game for the Bears.
Necaise scored a game-high nine points in the opening half, as Southeastern erased a six-point Mercer lead and pulled within one, 29-28, at the break. Mercer dominated the offensive glass in the opening period with the team’s nine offensive rebounds in the initial 20 minutes playing a large part in the Bears' slender opening half lead.
Southeastern will now take the week off to concentrate on fall semester final exams before returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 8 at North Florida for a 1 p.m. contest.
SOUTHEASTERN (3-3)
Gross 8-14 0-0 17; Carlin 5-12 2-4 12; Necaise 3-11 1-2 10; Ivory 4-7 0-3 9; Mitchell 2-8 0-0 6; Hix 1-4 0-0 3; George 0-3 2-2 2; Russell 0-1 1-2 1; Mackie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 6-13 60.
MERCER (3-5)
Jackson 4-10 4-5 13; Essex 5-10 0-1 13; Russell 4-9 4-4 12; Carter 4-10 1-1 9; Bell 3-12 1-2 8; Leonard 2-3 0-0 4; Lewis, T. 1-4 1-2 3; Lewis, M. 1-5 0-0 2; Seymour 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 11-15 64..
Halftime Score�"MER 29, SLU 28. 3-point goals-SLU 8-22 (Necaise 3-9; Mitchell 2-5; Ivory 1-1; Hix 1-2; Gross 1-2; George 0-2; Carlin 0-1), MER 5-18 (Essex 3-7; Bell 1-3; Jackson 1-5; Lewis, M. 0-1; Seymour 0-1; Carter 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-SLU 39 (Gross 12), Mercer 46 (Russell 9). Assists-SLU 13 (Mitchell 5), MER 16 (Jackson, Essex 5). Total fouls-SLU15, MER 13. A-209.
