Mercer hits 1,500-point mark for career

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 21, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Rosewood's Lexi Mercer reported to the scorer's table and stepped back onto the court after a dead ball.

Seconds later, she reached a historical milestone.

Jala Holloman kicked out a pass to Mercer, who stood just outside the 3-point arc. Instead of driving to the basket, the junior lofted a shot that hit nothing but net.

There it was -- point No. 1,500.

Eagles head coach Rick Grantham called timeout, grabbed the microphone and presented Mercer with a plaque, and portrait recognizing her achievement. She is the ninth player, male and female combined, to log 1,000-plus points in program history.

Mercer joined an elite fraternity that includes Belinda Hollingsworth, Chuck Lucas, Kay Ludlum, Tim Lucas, Cathy Ellis, James Cox, Carrie Smith and Jerri-Rae Pearson. Pearson graduated in 1999.

"I was like it wouldn't be as fun to get one off of a layup or anything, so I came in and knocked down a 3 ... definitely a shot that I will remember for a long time," said Mercer, who didn't play the final 10 minutes of a 60-46 triumph over second-year Carolina 1-A Conference member Neuse Charter.

"It's definitely a great accomplishment, a reward for being in the gym all the time working out and doing everything I can to make myself a better player. But it's not just about me, it's also about the team. (If) scoring points is what we need for us to get the win, then that's what I'm going to try to do."

All 12 Rosewood players saw considerable playing time and 11 scratched in the scorebook. Mercer finished with 15 points, officially giving her 1,502 for her career. She added nine rebounds, dished out six assists and picked the Cougars for four steals.

Holloman contributed eight points. Alyssa Garrison and Callie Thornton supplied seven and six points, respectively.

Rosewood's bench accounted for 25 points.

"I thought we passed it good in a lot of spots and didn't score as efficiently as we should have in the second half," said second-year RHS head coach Rick Grantham, whose team had 20 assists on 27 made field goals.

"I thought we did some really good things tonight. The 2s (reserves) got a lot work tonight, which is good for them because they don't get a lot of game action. They work hard in practice just like everybody else."

Neuse (5-10 overall, 2-5 CC) erupted for 23 fourth-quarter points and knocked down 10 3-pointers for the game. Dominique Dakin led three Cougars in double figures with a game-high 18 points.