Mercer women’s basketball finds footing ahead of SoCon slate

The Mercer women’s basketball team had one mission this year, and it was a deceptively simple one on its face: get the ball in the basket.

It sounds obvious. Every team wants to improve on offense, but the Bears struggled mightily to put points on the board last season with their shooting woes. Even with a respectable defense and some decent team chemistry last season, the scoring never solidified for Mercer.

So far this season, it’s a different story — much to the excitement of head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and her staff, who are in their second year leading the women’s team.

The Bears defeated Mississippi Valley State 66-43 for one of their best wins this season Sunday to improve to 6-5 overall and bounce back from a pair of losses.

 “We’re really proud of all the hard work they’ve put in,” Heard said. “I think it’s just about the consistency of the players we’ve put together. We added some three-point shooters, that’s something we really thought we needed. The chemistry is great, we had 14 assists in that win. They’re meshing really well off the floor.”

Mercer won the home game — the Bears are now 3-1 at home with their lone loss in Hawkins Arena coming to Clemson in the home opener — thanks to a season-best 11 three-pointers on 22 attempts, making for a well-balanced offense.

Newcomers Elena Cabello and Abigail Holtman contributed 17 points each in the victory, a season-high for both players.

“We knew they could shoot from long range when we brought them in to join the team this offseason. They clicked in that win,” Heard said.

The 17-point efforts gave some well-deserved backup to Mercer’s top three players. Ariana Bennett, Nahawa Diarra and Micah O’Dell are each averaging more than 10 points per game so far and have been crucial leaders. Bennett and Diarra fill particularly important roles as returning players on a squad featuring new faces that are trying to gel as conference play approaches.

“We were really happy to have Ariana back, and then we found out Nahawa had an extra year of eligibility. That felt like a huge break. Then we got together over the summer to work, and they just drove everything,” Heard said.

Meanwhile, the junior O’Dell has emerged as a team leader after transferring in from Robert Morris. Though she is a bit banged up and missed Mercer’s last two games, Heard said the guard from St. Louis should be ready to go for conference play to resume her role as a difference-maker.

“She just tweaked her knee a little and then had a little bit of sickness, but we’re confident she’ll be ready really soon. We just want her to be at full strength for conference play when we need her most,” Heard said. “Getting her back will be big because she just stepped up as soon as she got here. When she started working with Ari and Nahawa she just blended in. Then we started, not just the players but the coaches, just following her.”

That Southern Conference schedule — though it does not begin until Jan. 6 for the Bears, who have three non-league games from Dec. 20 to Jan. 2 — is the crucial piece of the puzzle for programs like Mercer. Heard knows the Bears’ history of dominance in the conference and wants to bring some of that stature back.

“The conference schedule is always gonna be fun, and it’s a big test this year with Western (Carolina) and UNCG right off the bat. If you look at the standings right now, we’re tied up there right now with (Chattanooga) and UNCG,” Heard said. “I think the league is gonna be competitive across the board. There’s a lot of teams that also shoot threes, so we’re gonna look at it as just, ‘go guard and defend.’”

Those games will be on the road and should reveal lots about the Bears’ place in the Southern Conference standings. The team is excited for the impending challenge as well, the head coach said. 

“Preseason is preseason, you don’t put too much weight on it. We’re not looking past anything, but being picked last kind of added fuel to the fire. The girls want to play those games and compete,” she said. 

Before that Southern Conference slate, though, the Bears have one last trip before the holidays. After an early Wednesday game against Division II opponent Erskine after The Melody goes to print, Mercer will compete in the Tulane Holiday Tournament.

The four-team event hosted by the Green Wave in New Orleans will feature Tulane, Detroit Mercy and Elon in addition to the Bears. Mercer is set to face off against Detroit Mercy the afternoon of Dec. 20 and play either the host Green Wave or Elon on Dec. 21.

The tournament will be a challenge against solid non-conference opponents. While the trip to New Orleans is a unique location for Mercer, the Bears probably won’t get much time to enjoy the French Quarter.

“We always try to make experience and some fun a big thing, but for this one it’s a quick turnaround. We have to get out there after a game Wednesday and get used to the gym, then we play Saturday and Sunday,” Heard said. “It’s the last game before Christmas, too, so we want to get out there and compete and then make sure everyone can spend time with friends and family for the holidays.”

The Bears’ first matchup of the Tulane Holiday Tournament begins at 3:30 p.m. against Detroit Mercy.