Bears Fight Off Late Rally, Top Kennesaw State 64-59

MACON, Ga. (MERCER RELEASE) – The Mercer women’s basketball team used season-high 24 points from Briana Williams Saturday afternoon to hold off Kennesaw State and pick up a 64-59 victory inside Hawkins Arena in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

The Bears (11-9, 4-5) open up a three-game homestand with their second-straight victory, while the Owls (4-16, 2-7) drop their fifth consecutive contest and third in a row against Mercer in the all-time series.

Mercer clamped down on defense in the early going, holding the Owls to just one field goal over the first 10 minutes and taking a 13-point lead with 9:35 remaining in the opening stanza when Briana pulled down her own missed shot and tipped it home to give the Bears a 16-3 advantage.

Turnovers proved to be the difference in the first half, as the Owls committed 13 turnovers that led to 10 points the other way for the Bears.

Kennesaw State battled back over the final eight minutes and of the first half and cut the Mercer lead to three points on two different occasions before a late steal and fast break layup by Alicia Williams gave the Bears a 25-20 halftime lead. The Owls scored 12 of its final 14 points of the first half in the paint to cut a once 13-point deficit down to five at intermission.

After losing momentum to end the first half, Mercer stole it right back in the opening minutes of the second period, scoring six straight points to push the lead right back double digits and take a 31-20 advantage with 17:21 remaining in the game.

The two teams traded baskets over the course of the second half and KSU cut the Mercer lead to just five points with 5:17remaining. After shooting just 1-for-5 from the field in the first half, Kendra Grant caught fire down the stretch and scored 11 points over the final seven minutes to send the Bears to a five-point victory.

Williams led all scorers with a season-high 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field, while Grant finished with 19 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

The Bears return to action Thursday, Feb. 6, welcoming Northern Kentucky to town for an A-Sun matchup inside Hawkins Arena. Tip-off against the Norse is slated for 7 p.m.