A long way from 2-27 and an 86-point loss, Gardner becomes No. 1 at Mercer
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
She was introduced on June 24, 2010 as the latest Mercer women’s basketball head coach.
Susie Gardner’s predecessor was Janell Jones, who had one winning season in three after succeeding interim coach Sybil Blalock, 4-14 in one season.
Gardner was becoming, in fact, the Bears’ sixth head coach since the turn of the century. The first year? 2-27, a Mercer record, and not in a good way. The next year? 6-23, and a mind-blowing 86-point home loss to Notre Dame.
And that was that.
The Bears haven’t stopped rolling, and Saturday’s 71-50 win over Southern Conference power Chattanooga, put Gardner the winningest women’s basketball coach in Mercer history.
Gardner is now 134-109, Saturday’s win clinching the Bears’ fifth 20-win season and fourth in a row. It was the program’s first win at Chattanooga’s McKenzie arena, breaking an eight-game streak.
"I want to thank Tiffany Swoffard and Rhet Wierzba for coming here when I first got the job," Gardner said in a release. "I also want to thank Angie Nelp for joining us in year three and for laying the foundation for the program when we weren't winning and for believing in what we were trying to build.
"I also want to thank Joanna Reitz for joining us in our fourth season and helping bring a strong group of recruits to this program."
Assistants Tiffany Morton, Trelanne Powell and Ben Wierzba are all in their third season.
"Of course I want to thank Tiffany, Tre and Ben for continuing our success," said Gardner, who was an assistant at Florida before taking the Mercer job. "Obviously every coach has been a part of each win and every player who believed in what we were trying to build has played a big role."
Gardner, who played at Georgia, is now second in longevity, two seasons behind Ed Nixon, who won 115 gaes in 10 years. Peggy Collins still has the top winning percentage at 80.1, coming in the program’s first seven seasons, which weren’t NCAA years.
Gardner’s winning percentage of 55.1 in second among Mercer coaches with more than one season. Sharon Baldwin was 16-13, 63.3 percent, in her lone season, 2001-02.
Mary Persons grad KeKe Calloway had a 3-pointer to set the program record for a season with 78. She led the Bears with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Kahlia Lawrence also had 17 points, while Sydni Means had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Mercer set a program record with its 17th straight win, remaining unbeaten in Southern Conference play while improving to 20-2. The Bears have impressively won 15 straight by double figures, aided Saturday by a huge 41-24 rebound advantage.
The Bears are back home to welcome Furman at 5 p.m. on Thursday as part of a women’s/men’s doubleheader.