Four players scored in double figures to lead the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team to its third-straight win in a 72-54 victory against Mercer Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

 

Senior Mackenzie Engram led Georgia with 14 points, while a pair of freshmen followed close behind with Que Morrison’s 13 and Gabby Connally’s 11. Redshirt-sophomore point guard Taja Cole added 10 points and has scored in double figures twice in the first three games.

Georgia moves to 3-0 this season and picks up its second-straight win over a team that won 20 or more games during the 2016-17 campaign. Mercer, now 3-1, returned all five starters from a squad that went 25-7 and won its second-straight Southern Conference Championship last year.

“Mercer is very, very good,” head coach Joni Taylor said. “They have three tremendous scorers and are going to be a team that wins a lot of games again this season. Our team did a really nice job once again on the road to come out with a victory. We have a quick turnaround with Western Carolina coming to Athens Tuesday, but I am pleased with how we played today.”

Haley Clark scored the first basket of the game at the 7:22 mark of the first quarter, but Mercer scored six-straight points to take the early lead. The Lady Bulldogs hit just 3-of-13 from the field (23 percent) as the Bears led, 12-7, at the end of one.

Two consecutive baskets by Stephanie Paul to open the second quarter forced the Bears to call an early timeout as Georgia cut the lead down to 14-11. The Lady Bulldogs then heated up from the field and went on an 11-0 run, with six of those points coming from two 3-pointers by Connally.

Connally and Engram led Georgia at the half with six points apiece, while the Lady Bulldogs held Mercer to just 30-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes en route to a 32-24 lead at the break.

Engram quickly extended the advantage to 11 with a 3-pointer from the right wing just seconds into the third period. The Lady Bulldogs managed to hold on to a 45-37 advantage to go into the fourth quarter despite not hitting a field goal in the final five minutes.

That streak ended when Engram knocked in Georgia’s first basket of the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs’ defense also stepped up in the opening minutes of the fourth as Mercer failed to hit a shot for close to three minutes.

Georgia outscored Mercer 27-17 in the final period to hold on for the 72-54 victory.

CLICK HERE for the complete box score and full stats from Georgia’s game versus Mercer.

The Lady Bulldogs return home Tuesday evening to host Western Carolina at 7 p.m. ET.