Women's Basketball Falters against Mercer
February 04, 2007
DeLand, Fla. ? Foul trouble and turnovers on both teams told the story for this afternoon's match-up at the Edmunds Center between the Hatters and the Mercer Bears. The story ended in the Bears first conference victory of the season, taking the 10 point win 66-56, over the Hatters.
The Hatters came out shooting with a quick bucket by sophomore Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J). Turnovers committed by the Hatters allowed the Bears to take over the lead, 6-8 with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. But the Hatters would put the pressure on and forced the Bears to commit 14 turnovers and regaining the lead going into the half 29-19. The Hatters held the Bears to just 33 percent shooting in the first half going 9-27 from the field.
Junior Kellie Olson (Tucson, Ariz.) led the first half for Stetson with 10 points on 3-4 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. Senior Janene Maclin, (Chicago, Ill.) followed with six first half points and three steals for the Hatters.
The second half began much like the first half with the Hatters striking first, taking a 12 point lead on a bucket by Maclin. The Hatters would go up by as much as 13 points by forcing turnovers and with the strong effort by the teams' two seniors Maclin and Kim Manning (Daytona Beach, Fla.).
The Bears brought the game to within one point on a three pointer by Megan Delarosa with 12:28 remaining in the game. Missed opportunities by the Bears gave the Hatters the chance to push the lead up to seven, after freshman Prue Kenny (Geelong, Australia) scored a solid put back with just under eight minutes remaining.
After a quick timeout, Mercer put the pressure on the Hatters and took over the lead on a three point play by Rhonda Owens in the last five minutes. With time winding down the Hatters were forced to commit quick fouls to slow the clock, unfortunately the Bears were able to convert 16-25 from the charity strip and take as much as an 11 point lead over the Hatters. In the end the Hatters could not slow down the clock enough to catch up to the Bears and Mercer got its' first conference win, 66-56.
The Hatters were led by senior Janene Maclin with game-high 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior Kellie Olson added 13 points to the Hatters effort.
The Bears were led by Rhonda Owens with a double-double 12 points, 11 rebounds and Chelsea Seabron with her own double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up the Hatters take on the Lady Bison of Lipscomb University on Thursday February 8 at 7:00 pm in the Edmunds Center.
