College conference tourney hoops Central: Mercer women get going at SoCon, Chattanooga ousted

To be updated with the latest on Southern Conference, Peach Belt, Southern States, and GCAA as long as a Central Georgia team is alive. FVSU's men and women have been eliminated from the SIAC tournament. Links to other relevant tournaments will be added at the bottom.

          Mercer got two wins Thursday in the Southern Conference women’s tournament.

          First, they hammered Western Carolina 75-44 in the women’s opener.

          Then they got a figurative win, with UNCG getting a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left in the second overtime to knock off Chattanooga – a Mercer pest in this tournament – 70-66 in the day’s nightcap.

          In the process, UNCG guaranteed a new champ, having dumped the defending titleholder.

          Chattanooga’s Brooke Burns drained a 25-foot 3 with 1:41 left in the second OT, but UNG’s Mangela Ngandjui tied it almost a half-minute later.

          The Spartans followed a Mocs’ travel with a lead-taking bucket by Brandy Fier with 28 seconds left.

          Chattanooga missed a close shot in the paint, fouled Nadine Soliman on the rebound, and she made both with 2.9 seconds left to win it.

          UNCG had a 5-point lead with 3:15 left in the first overtime, but the Mocs tied it. A jumper by Ngandjui put UNCG up 60-58 with 53 seconds left.

          Chattanooga missed a 3, but UNCG turned it over with 8 seconds left, leading to a Mocs timeout. Brooke Burns then tied it with a banked runner with 4.3 seconds left and was fouled.

          And missed. A halfcourt heave was just right, forcing the second overtime.

          In regulation, Molly Melton shot an air ball and UNCG got the rebound, and was fouled with 9.9 seconds left. After a timeout, the Mocs quickly fouled with 7.5 seconds left.

          Te’ja Twitty missed the first and made the second for a 53-51 UNCG lead. But Burns drove for a layup to tie it with less than a second left, and on came overtime.

          All games are available on espn3.

Rutland grad TyAsia Grayer ended her Middle Georgia State career with 1,004 rebounds. Photo: MGSU.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Southern Conference

At Asheville, N.C.

Women

Thursday

1/Mercer 75, 8/Western Carolina 44

          Not a lot of suspense was expected. Not a lot of suspense happened.

          Mercer never trailed, stymied a brief early rally, and rolled to a 75-44 win Thursday over Western Carolina.

          Kahlia Lawrence led Mercer with 23 points in 27 minutes and KeKe Calloway added 18 in 29 as 11 Bears scored and 12 got a rebound.

          The Bears led by 15 at halftime and ended up doubling the margin.

5/Samford 59, 4/Furman 58

2/ETSU 78, 7/Wofford 64

 6/UNCG 70, 3/Chattanooga 66, 2 OT

Friday

11 a.m.: Mercer vs. Samford

1:15 p.m.: ETSU vs. UNCG winner

Sunday

12 p.m.: Friday’s winners

All games streamed on ESPN3

Men

Friday

5 p.m.: 8/The Citadel vs. 9/VMI

7:30 p.m.: 10/Chattanooga vs. 7/Samford

Saturday

12 p.m.: 1/UNCG vs. The Citadel/VMI winner

2:30 p.m.: 4/Mercer vs. 5/Wofford

6 p.m.: 2/ETSU vs. Chattanooga/Samford winner

8:30 p.m.: 3/Furman vs. 6/Western Carolina

Sunday

4 p.m.: Winner of Saturday 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. games

6:30 p.m.: Winner of 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. games

Monday

9 p.m.: Championship, ESPN 2

All games streamed on ESPN3

PEACH BELT CONFERENCE

Women

          Georgia College earned a spot in the semifinals with a 62-53 win over Flagler on the road Wednesday.

          The Bobcats (18-11) play at North Georgia at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

SOUTHERN STATES ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Men’s information

Women’s information

          Middle Georgia State’s men lost 81-70 to Loyola in the first round Thursday morning, ending the Knights’ season at 15-13.

          TyAsia Grayer, a senior from Rutland, finished her career with 1,004 rebounds, but the MGS women lost 62-53 to Martin Methodist, to end the season.

GCAA

Tournament information

          Central Georgia Tech’s women play Georgia Highlands at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

          The men’s tournament starts on March 6. CGTC is currently tied for third.

SEC

Women's info

ACC

Women's info