DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Asianae Nicholson registered a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds Saturday afternoon as Bethune-Cookman fell to Mercer by a score of 70-64 in women's basketball at Richard V. Moore Gymnasium.
 
Trailing 12-8 after the first quarter, Bethune-Cookman (2-5) used a 5-0 run early in the second quarter to take its first lead of the game, 13-12 when Karianna Woods connected on a pair of free throws, followed by Chanelle McDonald converting a three-point play at the foul line with 7:06 remaining in the half.
 
The two teams traded buckets over the course of the next five minutes with the lead changing hands six times during that span.
 
The Wildcats ran the lead to their largest of the game at 21-18 with Kayla White's fastbreak layup preceding Asianae Nicholson splitting a pair of free throws with 4:01 showing on the clock.
 
Mercer (4-5) responded with an 8-0 run of its own when Stephanie Utomi put back a Kayla Smith missed three-point attempt, and forward Chelsy Bautista collected a Talia Harris pass off the break for a layup of her own to put the Bears up, 22-21. Another fastbreak opportunity for the Bears was finished with a Nahawa Diarra layup before Ariana Bennett's extended the visitor's lead, 26-21.
 
Mercer led 29-24 at the half.
 
The Bears would use eight points from Harris in the third quarter hitting connecting on two (2) three-pointers – both coming from Harris, as the Bears stretched the advantage 48-42 at the close of the period.
 
Mercer received double digits scoring from three players, led at the top by Diarra's 16-point performance that included an 8-for-12 effort at the free throw line. Behind her were Harris (15) and Ashlee Locke (13), respectfully. Harris also distributed a game-high matching six assists. As a team, the Bears connected on 20 of their 30 attempts at the charity stripe.
 
Bethune-Cookman was topped in scoring by guard Kayla White with 16 points including a pair of three-pointers. Nicholson turned in her third double-double of the campaign with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Kayla Clark recorded eight rebounds off the bench while Woods dished out six assists from her point guard position.
 
The Wildcats travel to ACC opponent Miami (Fla.) for their next contest Sunday, Dec. 8, in Coral Gables. The game is streaming on ACC Network Extra with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
 
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