MACON, Ga. — Football maybe in full swing, but it won't be too long before Macon will be packing into basketball arenas. The Mercer Women's Basketball Team started practicing this weekend and there are plenty of questions to answer with the 2019-2020 Bears.
The women's team rolled this half of the decade with four straight years of dropping banners and six 20-plus-win seasons in the last seven years.
After losing two straight classes of legendary bears, including last year's Southern Conference player of the year in Keke Calloway, there will be plenty of questions to answer for head coach Susie Gardner's bears.
"It's not like starting over but in some ways, like you said, we lost a great class with Sydni and Kahlia and that crew and then in the next class we lost Amanda and Keke and Linnea in that crew so a different feel today starting practice," Gardner said.
The new look Bears will feature zero seniors, three freshman and the lone returning junior starter Shannon Titus. One of the biggest questions these Bears face is how Gardner utilizes two twin tower, DI transfers in Virginia Tech and Eastern Florida State's Sierra Votaw and Arizona's Kiana Barkhoff.
"We've got a little bit more, when I say maturity I mean somebody who's not 18. Might be 22, 21, but in terms of basketball, they don't have the experience with us, but they have basketball experience if that makes sense," Gardner said.
Votaw averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds for Eastern Florida State as a sophomore and All-Suncoast Conference first team honors. Barkhoff transferred mid-season from Arizona and had a full spring to practice under Gardner with her new squad.
Gardner said she's still getting a feel for her team as summer workouts end and real practices begin. That means figuring out who her leaders are moving forward. One she knows she can count on is Shannon Titus. However, she's quick to note that much of Titus' success last year included a strong roster of upperclassmen.
"Understand Shannon excelled last year, because she had four seniors around her," Gardner said. "Shannon didn't always get the best defender on her so whether or not she'll excel this year at the level that she did will be a lot on her."
Titus earned All-SoCon Second Team and All-SoCon Defensive honors last season while averaging 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. She also held the task of guarding the opponent's best player most nights. She'll have to quickly adjust to her role as more of a leader in 2019.
"I'm still learning as I go, but I think just leading by example is number 1 for me," Titus said.
The junior understands her team is in a tough spot coming off back-to-back conference tournament championships and NCAA tournament appearances, but she's not letting her teammates drink the three-peat kool-aid.
"I think right now we're just taking it day-by-day, you know, getting better. Each day trying to get better than the next day before. Not looking ahead just focusing on what's now," Titus said.
For the second straight year, the Bears will go through a brutal non-conference schedule including three SEC, two Ivy League, and one ACC opponents. The Bears will also have a long five-game road trip that includes trips to Columbia, Yale and then jumping right into three SoCon games.
Last year, Mercer faced two SEC, two ACC, and one Ivy League opponents. Gardner said it'll make her young team grow up quick.
"For me, it shows me what we need to do better. Who's our go-to player at the end of the game? Who do I want shooting the free throw in time and score that type of thing. Who do I want on the floor when it gets tight? These type of opponents really magnify those," Gardner said.
The Bears season will start November 5 at home against LaGrange College.