BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Fighting Camels welcomed themselves back to Buies Creek with their third-highest point total of the season in a 71-49 victory over Mercer Wednesday night at Gore Arena. The result is also the second-lowest point total CU has allowed this season.
 
The Camels (5-5) improved to 3-0 at home by finding their groove on the offensive end, shooting a season-high 52.8% from the field and 63.6% (7-of-11) from three-point range. The strong shooting performance came after shooting just 32.7%, including 2-of-21 from deep, against North Florida.
 
Mercer (5-4) was held to 26% shooting and just 21.4% from beyond the arc after coming into the game with a .352 average in the previous eight games. Ariana Bennett, the Bears' leading scorer, was held to 1-of-10 shooting and went 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
                                                                                    
Jasmine Felton posted a lights-out performance from the field, recording 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc. She also added seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
 
Nahawa Diarra led Mercer with 13 points, doing most of her damage at the free throw line similarly to Bennett. Diarra was 7-of-8 at the charity stripe and was 2-of-10 from the field, with both makes coming from three-point range (2-of-5).
 
The teams started the game close, with Campbell holding a 4-3 advantage around the 7:30 mark. The Camels broke the first quarter open with a 12-0 run over the next four and a half minutes, capped by a three-pointer from Hadleigh Dill to force a Mercer timeout.
 
The Camels forced five first-quarter turnovers for the Bears, contributing to the run while holding Mercer to just eight points in the first frame.
 
Mercer opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two, but the Camels answered with a 7-0 run of their own in just over a minute of game time to push the lead back to nine. Jasmine Nivar made one of her two three-pointers in the run, as she finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Each team scored 14 points in the second quarter, as the Camels took a 31-22 lead into the locker room. N'na Konate made her presence known on the defensive end with four blocks in the first half.
 
Campbell started the third quarter making two of its first three shots, then went one for the next eight, as each team picked up its defensive intensity.
 
Campbell created separation throughout the game by effectively scoring off the turnovers it forced. At the third quarter media timeout, Mercer had 14 turnovers to Campbell's 15, but the Camels created 17 points off the turnovers compared to just eight for the Bears.
 
CU ended the game with a +11 margin on points off turnovers (24-13) and a 20-point margin in the paint (42-22) while also making four more three-point shots.
 
Ciara Alexander, who had just two points and two rebounds in the first half, enforced her presence in the third quarter. She had six rebounds in the first five minutes, and she ended the frame with eight rebounds and four points.
 
Gianni Boone also came alive with eight points in the third quarter after being in the starting lineup for the first time this year.
 
The Camels continued to pull away in the fourth quarter thanks to eight points in the frame from Felton. CU's largest lead of the game was 27, and it came with 1:22 left in the game.
 
UP NEXT
The Camels have a week off before hosting Carolina University next Thursday for Education Day. The game will be streamed on FloCollege and is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. from Gore Arena.
 
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