Mercer starts slow, finishes with career-high 44 points

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on March 3, 2015 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

At the end of the first quarter of Rosewood's second-round matchup with Plymouth, the Eagles were in trouble.

Tied at 14, the Vikings had shut down the Eagles' high-paced offense and limited Lexi Mercer to just two points.

Three quarters and 42 points later -- all by Mercer -- made the narrative look a little bit different. The junior's career-high performance helped Rosewood cruise past Plymouth, 77-60, in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A girls' basketball playoffs.

The Eagles (21-3 overall) travel to East Columbus today in a rematch of last year's eastern regional semifinal won by Rosewood in Fayetteville. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

The game was just another notch on the belt for Mercer, who's made a habit of putting up eye-raising stat lines during her varsity career. She scored 15 points in the second quarter, 14 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth.

Mercer had 27 of the Eagles' 36 second-half points.

"I thought Lexi was unreal," head coach Rick Grantham said. "She had that look in her eye."

Mercer was more pleased with the result, however.

"I was just focused," she said. "I just focus on one at a time. It's not about the score, it's about the process."

Outside of Mercer, it was Jala Holloman who handled the scoring load for Rosewood. Holloman came off the bench to provide some much needed scoring during the first quarter when the rest of her teammates were struggling to find a rhythm on offense. She finished with 12 points on the night, six of which came during the first quarter.

"I thought she was awesome," Grantham said. "She hit a couple of perimeter jumpers which was a big confidence boost for her."

It was an effort that her teammates were more than grateful for.

"She was in a great spot for us," Mercer said. "That's what got us going, when we really started picking up momentum. Once we got it and we started going, there was no stopping us."

Tradesia Simpson led Plymouth in scoring. She had 14 points, including a nine-point third quarter in which she hit 3 consecutive 3-pointers --the only serious run that the Vikings made in the second half.

Now it's on to East Columbus.

Despite both rosters returning a majority of last year's team, the Eagles aren't spending much time thinking about last year's game.

"We know that they're a great club," Mercer said. "and we're a great club too. I think it's going to be a great game."

Despite playing three games in a four-day period, Grantham is confident in his team's ability.

"We're going with whoever we get on the bus with," he said. "I'm not a big scouter. I just say, 'this is what we've got. If it isn't good enough, we come on back to the house.' I trust the kids. They're a good team."