Bears Host Spartans On Senior Day

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will host UNCG for the Bears' final home game of the season on Saturday at 2 p.m. Following the game, there will be a senior day ceremony honoring Mercer's lone senior, Ciarra Edwards.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, February 11 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (18-5, 8-2 SoCon) vs. UNCG (14-11, 5-5 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG
Live Stats: MercerBears.com | Video: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

STELLAR START
Mercer has started the season with a 19-5 record, the best under Coach Gardner. It is also the best start for the program since Mercer went 19-5 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.

PUTTING THE "W" IN HAWKINS ARENA
Mercer is 11-2 at Hawkins Arena so far this season. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Mercer has tallied a 33-11 mark in Hawkins Arena. Additionally, Mercer is 14-5 in SoCon games at Hawkins Arena since joining the league in 2014.

MARKING A MILESTONE
In Thursday's win over Western Carolina, Kahlia Lawrence hit her 1,500th carer point, making her just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,500 points. The junior passed the 1,000-point mark in the regular season finale last year and it has only taken her 28 games since then to get to 1,500. Lawrence is the third player at Mercer under Coach Gardner to reach 1,500 points and the first to do so in less than three seasons.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
This season, Mercer has continued to put on a show offensively. The Bears are atop the SoCon rankings in scoring offense (66.5 ppg) and scoring margin (9.5). Mercer also ranks second in assists per game (14.4).

In SoCon games, Mercer is first in scoring offense (65.8 ppg) and assists per game (14.4), while ranking second in scoring margin (8.9).

IT'S FOR FREE
As a team, the Bears have connected on 71.6 percent of their attempts from the free throw line this season. Mercer ranks third in the league and 103rd nationally in free throw percentage. Mercer has hit over 80 percent of its free throws in seven games this season. Additionally, Mercer has connected on 70+ percent of free throw attempts in eight of 10 SoCon games.

Kahlia Lawrence ranks second in the SoCon with a 78.6 free throw percentage, having connected on 66 of 84 attempts. Sydni Means is 68-of-90 from the charity stripe, putting her third in the league with a 75.6 percentage.

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY
Kahlia Lawrence is leading Mercer and ranks second in the SoCon with 18.4 points per game. The junior also ranks 45th nationally in ppg. She has reached double figures in scoring 20 times this season, including 14 of the last 15 games, and topped 20 points in 10 games.

Lawrence has scored 20+ points in six of nine SoCon games, putting her atop the league standings with 20.0 ppg in SoCon play.

DUBS ON DUBS ON DUBS
Mercer is outscoring its opponents by 9.5 ppg this season, which is buoyed by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Kahlia Lawrence (18.4 ppg), KeKe Calloway (12.8 ppg) and Sydni Means (10.5 ppg) are leading the Bears offensively this season.

The Bears also have two players -- Lawrence (20.0 ppg), Means (11.8 ppg) -- averaging double figures in SoCon games. KeKe Calloway (9.3 ppg) is just below the double-figure mark.

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 160 assists and is averaging 6.7 apg, both of which lead the conference. She is ranked 11th and 14th nationally in both total assists and apg. Means also leads the conference with a 3.40 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks sixth nationally.

In SoCon play, Means is averaging 7.3 apg and has dished out a total of 73 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 66 steals and 2.75 steals per game and leads the conference in both categories. She ranks 24th nationally in total steals and 32nd 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 three 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 lead the SoCon and 30th nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 57.1 points per game. Mercer has held its opponents to less than 60 points in 14 games and less than 50 points in six games this season.

In league action, Mercer's opponents are averaging 56.9 ppg. The Bears have held SoCon opponents to less than 60 points in seven of the 10 games so far. In Thursday's win over Western Carolina, the Bears held the Catamounts to just 15 first-half points.

BEARS ON THE BOARDS
Amanda Thompson leads Mercer on the boards with 6.8 rebounds per game this season and ranks sixth among SoCon players in the category.

Alex Williams is leading the Bears in SoCon play with 7.3 rpg, followed by Thompson (5.3) and KeKe Calloway (4.4). Williams is fourth in the league in rebounding against SoCon opponents.

SMOOTH CRIMINALS
As a team, Mercer has grabbed 236 steals and is averaging 9.8 steals per game, leading the league in both categories. Additionally, Mercer ranks 41st nationally in total steals and 53rd 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. Mercer's 14 steals against Western Carolina on Thursday was a season-high against SoCon opponents for the Bears.

HOLDING ONTO THE BALL
The Bears are protecting the rock well this year and are second in the nation with 10.3 turnovers per game. Mercer is also fifth in the nation in turnover margin, as the Bears have recorded a +7.88 turnover margin thus far. Mercer is forcing 18.13 turnovers per game, ranking second in the SoCon and 81st nationally.

Mercer has committed just 9.3 turnovers a game in SoCon play and has a turnover margin of 5.2, leading the conference in both categories.

KEKE FOR THREE
KeKe Calloway leads Mercer, ranks fifth in the conference and 112th nationally from outside the arc with 51 made three-pointers. She is also second in the SoCon and 24th nationally with 186 attempted treys. Calloway is averaging 2.13 three-pointers a game, putting her fifth in the conference and 132nd in the nation.

Earlier this season, Calloway earned a spot on the Bears' career made three-pointers leaderboard. She currently sits in ninth place with 103 made three-pointers.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer owns a 7-0 record in the series with UNCG. Since the Bears joined the SoCon, Mercer and UNCG have met six times. Last month, Mercer used a first-half lead and late-game free throws to earn a 13-point win over the Spartans.

SCOUTING UNCG
UNCG sits in fifth place in the SoCon standings with a 5-5 league record. The Spartans, which started SoCon play at 1-5, have won their last four games to rocket up the standings.

Freshman Nadine Soliman leads UNCG with 16.6 ppg, followed by Te'ja Twitty with 9.3 ppg. Soliman is also averaging a team-leading 13.8 ppg in SoCon play, followed by Shanese Harris with 10.8 ppg. Twitty leads the Spartans both overall and in SoCon action with 7.7 boards a game in both.

UNCG is averaging 63.3 ppg and a league-leading 39.9 rpg. The Spartans have also forced a league-high 18.32 turnovers per game, but are turning the ball over 17.6 time a game themselves.

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.

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Ciarra Edwards

Kahlia Lawrence

Sydni Means

Amanda Thompson

Alex Williams

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