Bears Head to Kennesaw for Peach State Showdown

KENNESAW, Ga. – After losing two consecutive games by two points, the Mercer women’s basketball team aims to rebound with a win at Atlantic Sun rival Kennesaw State Wednesday evening.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Mercer faces a quick turnaround after playing extra minutes in an overtime loss against Jacksonville Monday night.  In that game, four Mercer starters played over 35 minutes.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

Kennesaw State welcomes Mercer to the KSU Convocation Center in hopes of extending a two-game winning streak.  The Owls bested North Florida, 54-50 on Monday night for their second conference win of the week.

Kennesaw State was picked to finish eighth among A-Sun competition in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches.  This season, the Owls’ roster features no seniors, but three starters are back from last year’s team that finished 11-19 (8-12 A-Sun).

Angie Smith leads the team offensively, averaging 13.5 points per game. Smith ranks 11^th among A-Sun players in scoring and leads the league in steals per game (2.76).

GAME NOTES

After Briana Williams’ 41 point output against Jacksonville, head coach Gardner was quoted as saying the freshman was “in the zone”.  Williams’ 41 point performance marked the highest scoring total for a D-I freshman this season and tied the fifth highest scoring total for any player this year.

This season, freshman Briana Williams has earned three prestigious distinctions awarded by the A-Sun conference office.  Williams is the reigning Newcomer of the week after averaging 28 ppg in two games versus UNF and Jacksonville.  Williams’ selection as Newcomer of the Week is her second of the season - the other honor coming on Nov. 23.  Williams was also named the league’s Player of the Week on Dec. 7.

Against Jacksonville, freshman Sharnea Boykin dished seven assists, moving her season total to 105.  Boykin is now just one of three Mercer players to top 100 assists in a single season since 2001.