SoCon Leaders Mercer, Chattanooga Clash Thursday

Thursday, February 2

Chattanooga, Tenn.

5:30 PM ET

Mercer University

Chattanooga

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

SoCon Leaders Mercer, Chattanooga Clash Thursday

2/1/2017 1:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch ESPN Live Audio

Both programs enter Thursday’s contest with identical 6-1 conference records

By: Gerrit Van Genderen

MACON, Ga. – Mercer hits the road for Tennessee during the second half of this week for a pair of Southern Conference contests, starting with a highly anticipated battle at Chattanooga at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2.

The game will be held at the Mocs' McKenzie Arena as Chris GoForth (play-by-play) and Todd Agnee (color) will have the call.

Mercer (17-4, 6-1 SoCon) has won five straight games – all SoCon contests – dating back to Jan. 7 when the Mocs (12-9, 6-1 SoCon) defeated the Bears 74-56 at Hawkins Arena in Macon. Both squads enter Thursday's contest neck-and-neck atop the league standings. Chattanooga lost its first SoCon game of the year on Jan. 28 – a 65-48 defeat at Furman.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Feb. 2 | 5:30 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (17-4, 6-1 SoCon) at Chattanooga (12-9, 6-1 SoCon)
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. | McKenzie Arena
Game Notes: Mercer | Chattanooga
Live Stats: GoMocs.com | Video: ESPN3 | Audio: GoMocs.com
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

STELLAR START
Mercer has started the season with a 17-4 record, the best under Coach Gardner. It is also the best start for the program since Mercer went 17-4 to start the 1979-80 season. The Bears recorded the program's best non-conference record (11-3) in regular season play in the NCAA era.

ROAD WARRIORS
Mercer is 7-2 on the road this season and both losses were at the hands of Power Five teams. Since joining the league, Mercer has gone 13-3 in SoCon road games.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
So far this season, Mercer has proved that it will continue to put on a show on offense. The Bears are leading the SoCon in scoring offense (66.3 ppg) and scoring margin (9.6), while ranking second in assists per game (13.9).
In SoCon games, Mercer is third in scoring offense (64.7 ppg), and second in scoring margin (9.0) and assist per game (12.9).

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY
Kahlia Lawrence is leading Mercer and ranks second in the SoCon with 18.6 points per game. The junior also ranks 41st nationally in ppg. She has reached double figures in scoring 17 times this season, including 11 of the last 12 games, and topped 20 points in nine games. Lawrence has scored 20+ points in five of seven SoCon games, putting her atop the league standings with 21.3 ppg in SoCon play.

DUBS ON DUBS ON DUBS
Mercer is outscoring its opponents by 9.6 ppg this season, which is buoyed by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Kahlia Lawrence (18.6 ppg), KeKe Calloway (13.4 ppg) and Sydni Means (10.8 ppg) are leading the Bears offensively this season.

The Bears also have three players averaging double figures in SoCon games. Lawrence (21.3 ppg), Means (13.0 ppg) and Williams (10.6 ppg) are all averaging more points in conference play than overall 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 136 assists and is averaging 6.5 apg, both of which lead the conference. She is ranked 16th nationally in both total assists and apg. Means also leads the conference with a 3.32 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks fifth nationally.

In SoCon play, Means is averaging 7.0 apg and has dished out a total of 49 assists, leading the league in both categories.

ALL ABOUT THE GIVE AND TAKE
In addition to leading the SoCon in assists and assists per game, Sydni Means has notched 59 steals and 2.80 steals per game and leads the conference in both categories. She ranks 21st nationally in total steals and 30th in steals per game. The junior point guard has recorded the SoCon's single-game highs for both assists (14) and steals (7). Means dished out 14 assists in the win over Furman two weeks ago, besting her previous career high (13) set at the end of December.

DEFENSE STANDING OUT
Mercer has focused more on defense this season and it has paid off. The Bears rank lead the SoCon and 28th nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 56.7 points per game. Mercer has held its opponents to less than 60 points in 12 games and less than 50 points in six games this season.
In league action, Mercer's opponents are averaging 55.7 ppg. The Bears have held SoCon opponents to less than 60 points in five of the seven games so far.

BEARS ON THE BOARDS
Amanda Thompson leads Mercer on the boards with 7.0 rebounds per game this season and ranks sixth among SoCon players in the category. Alex Williams is leading the Bears in SoCon play with 9.1 rpg, followed by Thompson and KeKe Calloway with 5.4 each. Williams is third in the league in rebounding against SoCon opponents.

SMOOTH CRIMINALS
As a team, Mercer has grabbed 203 steals and is averaging 9.7 steals per game. The Bears lead the SoCon in steals per game, while ranking second in total steals. Additionally, Mercer ranks 61st nationally in total steals and 62nd in steals per game.

Mercer has also recorded three of the SoCon's top five single-game steals performances, which includes the Bears' season-high 19 against Georgia Southern.

HOLDING ONTO THE BALL
The Bears are protecting the rock well this year and are second in the nation with 10.1 turnovers per game. Mercer is also fifth in the nation in turnover margin, as the Bears have recorded a +8.10 turnover margin thus far. Mercer is forcing 18.24 turnovers per game, ranking second in the SoCon and 83rd nationally.

Mercer has committed just 8.6 turnovers per game in SoCon play and has a turnover margin of 4.71, leading the conference in both categories.

WILLIAMS BACK IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Alex Williams has been solid for the Bears since returning to the starting lineup on Dec. 31 after missing six games due to injury. She narrowly missed a pair of double-doubles last week as she went for nine points and nine rebounds against Wofford before scoring seven and grabbing 12 rebounds against Samford. Williams is nearly averaging a double-double in SoCon play with 10.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg.

KEKE FOR THREE
KeKe Calloway leads Mercer and ranks fifth in the conference and 97th nationally from outside the arc with 47 made three-pointers. She is also second in the SoCon and 24th nationally with 168 attempted treys. Calloway is averaging 2.24 three-pointers a game, putting her fourth in the conference and 110th in the nation.

After making two three-pointers in Mercer's win over Paine, Calloway earned a spot on the Bears' career made three-pointers leaderboard. She currently sits in 10th place with 99 made three-pointers.

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.

SERIES HISTORY
Chattanooga leads the series 14-2, which includes a 7-0 mark in Chattanooga. The Bears and Mocs have met six times as SoCon opponents; the Mocs own a 5-1 record in that time. Chattanooga claimed a 74-56 win at Hawkins Arena on Jan. 7.

SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs enter Thursday's contest with an identical 6-1 SoCon record as Mercer, having suffered their first league loss on Jan. 28: a 65-48 defeat at Furman.

Chattanooga leads all conference teams in scoring defense (55.6 ppg) during SoCon play, which is only 0.1 ppg better than Mercer's 55.5 ppg allowed. The Mocs also lead all SoCon teams in scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage and blocked shots. Jasmine Joyner leads the SoCon with 9.8 rebounds per game and 4.5 blocks per game. More impressively, Joyner has elevated those numbers to 10.6 and 5.7 during league play. Two Mocs, Keiana Gilbert and Joyner, rank second and third, respectively in field goal percentage in SoCon play as well.

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.