Box score
MACON, Ga. - The “Jackson Three” isn’t an economy version of a 1970s pop group but, rather, what made the difference in Mercer University’s women’s basketball victory over Stetson University, 65-51, on Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
The win improved the Bears to 11-9 overall and 8-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference race. Stetson fell to 4-8 in A-Sun play and 4-17 overall.
Mercer senior guard
LaToya Jackson made it look easy as 1-2-3, pouring in a game-leading (and personal season-best) 24 points, thanks to a red-hot shooting touch from beyond the three-point line. Jackson was six-of-12 from long distance. Her first non-three-point field goal didn’t come until the 7:20 juncture of the second half, a period in which she tallied 16 of her point total for the game.
As a team, Mercer was nine-for 23 from three point country.
The six treys also equaled Jackson’s career single-game for three-pointers made, which she had accomplished on four other occasions, previously, during her three seasons in the Orange and Black. Overall, Jackson was eight-for 14 in field goal attempts.
“She was feeling it today,” said Mercer head coach
Janell Jones of Jackson’s efforts. “But that also says a lot about her teammates, because they knew she was ‘on’ and they were getting the ball to her.”
Neither team displayed much marksmanship to open the game. The Hatters and Bears had identical three-for-14 totals shooting from the field through the first 10:17 of the game. The teams eventually heated up, with Stetson going nine-of-21, with Mercer at seven-of-25, from the field in heading into the half, leading by a score of 27-21.
The Bears were able to take the locker room advantage thanks to their free throw shooting. MU was nine-of-12 from the charity line, while the Hatters had just one attempt (which they made) in the opening 20 minutes.
Mercer also came out with some in-your-shirt defense to open the game. In the first half alone, Mercer forced 15 turnovers and blocked three shots (all by
Lacy Ramon). The Hatters had one shot clock violation and would have been forced into three others, were it not for desperation shot attempts.
Stetson would eventually finish with 22 turnovers.
“We had been off a week and were a bit rusty,” said Jones of the Bears’ tarnished first half shooting. “We had to find our rhythm.
“In the second half, we wanted to keep the tempo fast and wear them down. I think we accomplished that and also played better defense, which led to some easy transition baskets.”
The Hatters sized up the Bears’ at halftime and forged into the leads, 30-29, within the first three minutes after several Mercer turnovers. The lapse elicited a timeout by Jones when Stetson went up 34-29 after a steal by Tierra Brown (nine points) and lay-up by Lyllique Roman (14 points) with 16:29 left to play.
“I didn’t have to say much,” recounted Jones of her timeout exhortations. “They knew they were playing bad. I just challenged them to ‘re-focus’ on how we play…hard, tough and together.”
Mercer immediately reversed its course from that point. The Bears spun the Hatters around to the tune of a 22-7 run over the next seven minutes to grab a double-digit lead, 51-41, after a pair of free throws by Ramon. The Bears, currently in third in the A-Sun standings, held that double-figure advantage the rest of the way to the win in keeping pace on the A-Sun leader board.
Senior guard
Courtney Ford added 16 points to the Mercer coffers. Ford had game-high totals in assists (7) and steals (4). She also led Bear rebounders, clawing her way to six boards.
Mercer will not have much time to savor the win, as A-Sun leader Florida Gulf Coast University comes to Macon on Monday evening for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off. That game – as well as the men’s game following – will be televised live on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.