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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Precious Bridges and Kendra Grant combined for 39 points Monday night to lead Mercer to a 77-67 victory over the Northern Kentucky in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
Bridges, who leads the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game, scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half while Grant added 19 points as the Bears improved to 13-7 overall, 7-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer shot 53.1 percent from the field in the second half and held off a late NKU rally to win the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
With NKU holding a 12-8 lead in the first half, Mercer used an 11-0 run to take a 19-12 advantage with 6:32 remaining in the half. After
Ellen Holton's layup tied the game at 22-all with 4:48 left in the first half, Mercer closed out the half with a 10-3 run to take a 32-25 advantage into the break. Bridges and Alicia Williams each scored four points during the spurt.
The Bears extended their lead to 42-30 with 16:35 remaining in the game, but the Norse rallied and a 3-point field goal by
Rianna Gayheart cut the Mercer lead to 44-38. Once again, Mercer stretched the its advantage up to 10 (55-45), but NKU slowly chipped away at the lead.
The Norse hit five 3-point field goals, including three by
Jaimie Hamlet, in the final 5:30 of the game but could not pull any closer than six points the rest of the way.
Tiara Hopper tied her career-high with 22 points, and she grabbed 10 rebounds to lead NKU, which is 7-11 overall, 4-5 in the A-Sun. It marked her second double-double of the season.
“
Tiara Hopper played with every ounce of energy and everything that she had, and unfortunately she didn't get rewarded with us winning when she has one of those games. But it is good to have her back,” NKU head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit said. “She played this well early in the season but hasn't played this well since her injury, but she played fantastic tonight.
“She took it at some kids and was our kid that could score one-on-one in a lot of different opportunities.”
Hamlet added a season-high 14 points and collected five assists for the Norse, who were 9-for-15 from 3-point range. She finished 4-for-5 from behind the arc and moved into 10th place on NKU's career 3-point field goals list.
Mercer finished with a 28-10 advantage in points off the bench and an 18-5 edge in second-chance points. The Bears won the rebounding battle by a 40-34 count and committed just five turnovers.
Williams added 14 points off the bench for the Bears.
“When we missed some assignments, they made us pay,” Plitzuweit said. “I think our kids put us in good positions, but we lost to a team that is a little bit better than we are right now.
“We just have to find a way to get a little bit tougher, a little bit crisper on some of our assignments when we go on the road. This will be a great challenge for us.”
NKU is now 58-9 all-time in The Bank of Kentucky Center, including 6-2 this season. The Norse were unbeaten (4-0) against A-Sun teams at home prior to Monday's game.
NKU travels to Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday to face South Carolina Upstate at 2 p.m. Earlier this season, the Norse posted a 70-62 win over the Spartans in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
