Women’s basketball in the mix for A-Sun tournament

The Mercer Women’s basketball team played two more conference series in the past two weeks. On Feb. 6 and 8, the Bears faced Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb at home. After a close loss to the Norse, the Bears came back with a vengeance to secure a five-point victory over the Lipscomb Bisons.

A week later, the team travelled to Florida to take on Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast. The Stetson Hatters are currently undefeated at home and ranked No. 1 in the conference. While the Bears fought hard against both teams, they could not pull out a win.

“Those are the three top teams in our conference right now,” said senior Sharnea Boykin. “While they are very good teams they are still not invincible. They are tough match ups that force our team to have to focus on doing every little thing the right way.”

After the weekend, the Bears are even more determined to get better each practice in order to succeed in conference.

“We have had a lot of tough losses and some close heartbreakers,” said junior Teanna Robinson. “However, I don’t think we have peaked yet, so I am still expecting some exciting things to happen.”

Throughout the season, the Bears have hit some key milestones. Junior guard Precious Bridges reached the 1,000-point career milestone. Boykin surpassed the school’s assist record, and Robinson broke the school record in blocks in a single game. Robinson has been rallying back and forth for the No. 1 spot in blocked shots in the nation. These few standouts will no doubt help the team secure some important wins.

The Bears will continue their efforts to improve, knowing that the competition is only going to get better.

“The conference is competitive and anyone can be beaten on any given night,” said Boykin. “The conference is strong and every game is an exciting match up.”

The team knows they need to focus on one game at a time. It is important to take each team seriously, especially on the road to the conference tournament.

“As long as we play as a unit and execute the game plan we will come out victorious,” stated Boykin. “We don’t expect anyone to just roll over and die for us.”

The Bears still have plenty of time left in the season to move up in the conference standings and increase their chances of succeeding in the A-Sun Tournament.

“I know that we have gotten off to a rough start, but it’s not how you start it’s how you finish,” said Robinson. “I think we can finish big.”

The team will continue their push for an A-Sun Championship each day. The Bears will face University of South Carolina-Upstate and East Tennessee State University this Thursday and Saturday, Feb. 20 and 22 in Hawkins Arena.