DeLand, Fla. ? Stetson University women's basketball Head Coach Dee Romine earned her 300th career victory this evening at the Edmunds Center when her Hatters (3-14, 1-3 Atlantic Sun) took down visiting Mercer 74-70 in Stetson's conference home opener. Sophomore forward Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) scored a career-high 22 points to lead four Hatters in double figures.
Down by one point at halftime, Stetson used back-to-back Jackson trifectas to start the second half on a 12-2 run. The Hatters would stretch their lead to 13 with 10:21 remaining before Mercer began a furious comeback. The Bears (3-14, 0-4 A-Sun) went on a 12-2 run in a six-minute span which culminated with 1:52 to play as Karen Dorris sank all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc by junior forward Shayna Swinson (Atlanta, Ga.) Those free throws put Mercer up 66-65, its first lead of the second half.
Freshman guard Brittany Carannante (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater HS) came to the rescue for the Hatters on the next possession. Her twisting jumper in the paint while surrounded by three defenders put Stetson up for good with 1:41 remaining and touched off a 7-0 run that put the game out of reach. The Hatters, who came into the game ranked last in the Atlantic Sun in free throw shooting, came up clutch by making seven of eight from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds.
Jackson made nine of 13 shots from the floor en route to tying the highest scoring total by a Hatter this season. Carannante made five of nine field goals and finished with a career-best 15 points while freshman forward Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa HS) tied her career high with 11 points. Junior center Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J.) rounded out the quartet in double figures with 10 points.
Junior guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) was the catalyst behind Stetson's season-high scoring total. She scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded her second blocked shot of the season. Her rejection of LaToya Jackson's layup attempt with 1 minute left and the Hatters clinging to a three-point lead was the key defensive play of the ballgame. Ashli Jackson pulled down five rebounds, as did senior guard Kellie Olson (Tucson, Ariz.) and freshman guard Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla./First Academy).
LaToya Jackson led Mercer with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Karen Dorris scored 13 points and TaShera Lewis added 12 for the Bears while Cristin Seymour nearly had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair throughout in which neither team led by more than four points. Mercer took a 38-37 lead into the locker room when the Bears capitalized on a Hatter turnover with a Seymour layup at the buzzer.
Stetson concludes its three-game homestand Monday afternoon with a 4:30 p.m. tip-off against A-Sun foe Kennesaw State. The game will be the opening act of a doubleheader with the Hatter men's contest against non-conference opponent Longwood to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Hatter-Owl game. Live video is available through Hatter Vision with Bill Topping calling the action; video and audio are online at the official Internet home of Stetson Athletics: www.gohatters.com.
