The Mercer University announces Anderson Trojans Edge Women's Basketball, 67-62

Despite holding a 10-point halftime lead, the Mercer women's basketball team couldn't hold on to its lead in the second half as Anderson defeated the Bears 67-62 on Sunday afternoon from Hawkins Arena.

The Bears scored seven points in the third quarter, tied for their lowest points scored in a quarter this season. They were 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from the field in the third quarter allowing the Trojans to get back in the game.

Turnovers hurt the Bears as they had 16 of them to Anderson's eight. The Trojans took advantage of Mercer's turnovers, outscoring the Bears 21-7 in points off turnovers.

Three Mercer players finished in double-figures in scoring, led by Erin Houpt who had 16 points, five assists and three rebounds. Amoria Neal-Tysor had 14 points with five assists and three rebounds and Brittany Reeves finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter was tightly contested with each team shooting just above 40 percent from the floor in the first quarter. With Anderson holding a 14-9 advantage, the Bears would go on an 8-0 run to take a 17-14 lead.
The Bears got out to a fast start in the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run to take a 27-16 lead.

An Erin Houpt 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the half gave Mercer a 39-29 lead at halftime. Six different players for Mercer had at least one made field goal in the second quarter as Mercer had its best offensive quarter of the game scoring 22 points to take a 10-point lead into the break. 

The second half is one the Bears would like to have back. Mercer just couldn't knock down shots in the third quarter and scored just seven points to allow Anderson to cut Mercer's lead to two, at 46-44.

With Mercer leading 50-45 just minutes into the fourth quarter, Anderson would go on a 9-0 run - its largest of the game - to take a 54-50 lead with just over five minutes remaining. Neal-Tysor and Houpt combined to score the last 12 points of the game for the Bears, but Mercer couldn't get a few key defensive stops down the stretch. 

NOTABLES

• Mercer outscored Anderson 18-6 in bench points.
• Mercer's 13 assists in the game, marked its fifth consecutive game with at least 10 assists.
• Brittany Reeves tied her season-high with 22 minutes played and scored in double-figures (10 points) for the first time since a 15-point performance against Georgia Southwestern on Nov. 20.

Original source can be found here.