ASHEVILLE, N.C. – An explosive second half would carry the No. 1 seeded Mercer Bears over the Wofford women's basketball team on Friday, falling 69-51 in the SoCon tournament semifinals at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Terriers match the '01-'02 team for the fifth best finish in program history, as the team concludes the season with a 16-15 overall record and 7-7 record in the SoCon.
 
"First of all, I want to congratulate Mercer. They were really good today, especially in the second half," said head coach Jimmy Garrity. "They're a team that is well coached. They are hard to guard. They do an unbelievable job of making shots in critical situations. And for the most part, I thought our defense was fairly good."
 
"We missed a couple of assignments but at the end of the day, they were better than we were today," added Garrity. "But having said that, I couldn't be more proud of this team and this program and the direction that this program is headed."
 
Sophomore Da'Ja Green led the Terriers as the only double-figure scorer, finishing with 16 points, netting two threes and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 39 minutes.
 
Junior Chloe Wanink followed with nine points and five rebounds, as Wanink's lone 3-pointer in the contest tied her with Natalie Walsh '02 for the most threes in a single season with 70 on the year. Senior Marissa Bayer finished with eight points, five rebounds, and one block in her last game as a Terrier.
 
Junior Cairo Booker recorded seven points, two rebounds, and a game-high six assists, as sophomore Jamari McDavid (five points, three rebounds, one block), and freshmen Niyah Lutz (three points, five rebounds, two steals) and Alexis Tomlin (three points, three rebounds) round the scoring for Wofford on the day.
 
Senior Marissa Bayer paced the Terriers in the first quarter, scoring six of Wofford's 11 points, as Wofford held Mercer to just 22.2 percent shooting (4-18 FG) in the first, though, balanced scoring and strong ball control would hold a 12-11 lead for the Bears through the first 10 minutes.
 
Mercer began to find its groove in the second quarter, opening with three consecutive scores to push an 18-13 lead by the 7-minute mark. Da'Ja Green then drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two, as Mercer's Amanda Thompson would corral her own miss for a finish that sparked a 6-0 spurt, capped by a Shannon Titus jumper, to hold a 24-16 lead with 2:55 left in the half. A Chloe Wanink jumper and free throw from Niyah Lutz ensued, though, Titus would score the last six points for Mercer to go on to close out the half with a 28-21 advantage.
 
Shooting wasn't pretty through the first 20 minutes, as Wofford connected on just 8-of-27 (29.6%) attempts, while holding to Mercer to 35.3 percent (12-34 FG) from the field in the half. The rebound battles was even in the half (21-21), though, Mercer forced seven turnovers to their four in aiding the halftime lead.
 
The Bears came out the half on fire, as Titus paced the Bears in scoring 12 of the first 17 points to bust out their first double-digit lead of the day, 40-27, by 5:39. Green followed with five straight points to cut the lead to eight, while Mercer's Linnea Rosendal answered with a three on the very next possession to push the margin back to double-digits, 43-32. The Bears were persistent for the remainder for the frame, as they shot 73.3 percent (11-15 FG) in the period, to take a 16-point lead by the end of the third, 53-37.
 
Mercer began to run away with the game to open the fourth, pushing a 20-point spread (59-39) by the 8:08 mark. Reaching leads as large as 22 (64-42) with 4:46 left to play, a Cairo Booker jumper sparked a 7-0 run, that featured a Niyah Lutz steal for a lay-in and Wanink 3-pointer, to cut the defecit to 13, 64-51, by the 3:06 mark. Coming out a timeout, Wofford began to run and jump traps in the half-court, as KeKe Calloway would nail a daggering 3-pointer before the shot-clock expired to push the lead to 16 (67-51) with 1:37 left. The Terriers were forced to foul for the duration of play, as the Bears held on for the last minute and a half to earn the 69-51 win at the end of regulation.
 
The Bears finished the contest shooting 48.3 percent (28-58 FG) from the field and 36.4 percent (4-11 3FG) from beyond the arc, led by Shannon Titus with 29 points and six rebounds. Despite the loss, the Terriers held the rebound advantage for the contest, 39-37.
 
Mercer advances to their fourth straight SoCon tournament championship, facing the winner of No. 2 Furman/No. 3 Chattanooga on Sunday, March 10, at the U.S. Cellular Center.