The following is the latest installment of an occasional series about the progress of standout local student-athletes who have gone on succeed at the next level in their college careers.
BERLIN- Nearing the end of her college career as a guard for the Shippensburg University women’s basketball team, former Stephen Decatur standout Elise Mercer, who set the all-time scoring record for the Seahawks, is a steady contributor for the NCAA Division II school.
Mercer, who finished her career at Decatur with 1,494 points to set the all-time scoring mark has steadily evolved into a complete player at Shippensburg. Elise enjoyed a breakout year last season as a junior, appearing in all 28 games including 25 starts and averaged nearly 32 minutes a game. She was the Raiders’ leading scorer in four games last year and scored in double digits in 15 of her games.
Thus far this season, she has picked up where she left off last year, starting all 17 of the Raiders’ games going into this week. She has averaged just under nine points per game this year and has shot about 42-percent from the floor. She is also among the school’s leaders in rebounds and assists. Perhaps her best effort this year came against East Stroudsburg in a nationally televised game on January 17 during which she scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists and went 8-10 from the free throw line.
He career numbers to date at Shippensburg include 522 career points, 245 rebounds and 103 assists in 63 games, for an average of just over eight points a game.
Mercer went to Shippensburg after an outstanding high school career at Decatur, during which she toppled a decades-old school scoring record with 1.494 career points. She was the Bayside Conference Player of the Year as a senior and team MVP two times. Mercer was also an outstanding student including a four-year run on the honor roll and a two-year member of the National Honor Society.