Mercer Makes Short Trip To Face Georgia Southern

Tuesday, November 29

Statesboro, Ga.

11:00 AM ET

Mercer University

Georgia Southern

Photo courtesy of Judy Stapleton

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

Mercer Makes Short Trip To Face Georgia Southern

11/28/2016 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

MACON, Ga. – The Bears are wrapping up their three-game road swing on Tuesday when the Mercer women's basketball team heads to Statesboro to take on Georgia Southern.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Tuesday, November 29 | 11 a.m.
Teams: Mercer (5-1, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Georgia Southern (2-4, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Location: Statesboro, Ga. | Hanner Fieldhouse
Game Notes: Mercer
Live Stats: GSEagles.com | Video: GSEagles.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

THANKFUL FOR A PAIR OF WINS
Over the Thanksgiving holidays, Mercer hit the road to take on Illinois and Houston. The Bears were able to put together a pair of wins, which includes the first win over a Big Ten team since 1976.

STELLAR START
Mercer has started the season with a 5-1 record, the best under Coach Gardner. It is also the best start since Mercer went 8-1 at the beginning of the 1980-81 season.

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY ONCE AGAIN
Kahlia Lawrence was uncharacteristically quiet in Mercer's first two games, scoring just 11 and 13 points for the Bears. Since the first week, she has bounced back offensively and currently leads Mercer with 18.8 points per game. Lawrence ranks second in the Southern Conference and 55th nationally in ppg.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR CALLOWAY
KeKe Calloway finished her freshman season as one of Mercer's leading scorers in the SoCon Tournament. The guard has started her sophomore season in much of the same fashion as she is currently second for the Bears with 17.7 points per game.

Calloway has reached double figures in five games this season and led the Bears in scoring in three games. She also ranks third in the league and 86th nationally in ppg. Additionally, she ranks 65th nationally and third in the SoCon with 106 total points.

KEKE FOR THREE!
In addition to scoring 17.7 points per game, Calloway has net a team-leading 14 three-pointers so far this season. The sophomore is fifth in the league and 84th nationally in three-pointers made. She also ranks third in the conference and 54th nationally in attempts.

HOLDING ONTO THE BALL
The Bears are protecting the rock well this year and are leading the nation with just 10.0 turnovers per game. Against Florida Atlantic, Mercer committed just three turnovers, which is a nation-wide single-game low this season.

SHARING IS CARING
After finishing last season leading the SoCon in total assists and assists per game, Sydni Means is still on top. Means has dished out 36 assists and is averaging 6.0 apg, leading the league in assists and ranking second in assists per game. She is ranked 26th nationally in total assists and 27th in apg. Means also leads the conference with a 5.14 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks fourth nationally.

MERCER RECEIVING VOTES IN LATEST MID-MAJOR POLL
The Bears are receiving votes in the latest edition (Nov. 22) of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Mercer has 60 points, the most of a team outside the Top 25.

Mercer joins No. 8 Chattanooga as the only two SoCon teams to be ranked in the poll, which is made up of head coaches from 31 mid-major programs. The Bears are only 14 points outside of the poll, which is released on Tuesday evening each week.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer owns a 34-30 lead in the series with Georgia Southern, including a 16-15 mark in Statesboro. Georgia Southern claims that Mercer's lead is 33-30 because they do not count the game played during the 1972-73 season, stating that the 1973-74 season was the first of the program.

Mercer has won each of the last two meetings by double digits, including an 84-61 win in Statesboro in 2014.

SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
After picking up a pair of wins to start the season, Georgia Southern has dropped the last four games to move to 2-4 overall. The Eagles have faced Power 5 opponents, Alabama and Clemson, but all four GSU losses have been double-digit losses.

Patrice Butler leads Georgia Southern with 15.8 ppg, which ranks her sixth in the Sun Belt. Angel McGowan is second for the Eagles with 12.7 ppg and both Butler and McGowan are proving to be threats outside the arc.

Georgia Southern leads the Sun Belt and ranks 84th nationally with 41 made three-pointers thus far. Patrice Butler leads the team with 11 three-pointers and is fourth in the conference with 1.83 per game. McGowan has hit nine treys as the duo accounts for nearly half the Eagles points from behind the three-point line.

Patrice Butler also leads GSU with 6.5 rebounds per game, followed closely by Sierra Butler's 6.3 rpg.

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.