Mercer Seeks Fifth Straight Win, Faces Furman Saturday

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer will look to continue its strong play of late as it faces Furman in the Bears' penultimate regular season game at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 in Timmons Arena.

The Bears (21-5, 10-2 Southern Conference) are winners of four straight and sit atop the league standings after a shakeup Thursday night when Chattanooga (15-10, 9-2) lost at UNCG, 75-72 in overtime.

Furman remains in the league hunt at 14-13 overall and 7-4 in conference play, despite recently losing two-time All-SoCon selection Whitney Bunn to a season-ending injury. The Paladins are tied for third place in the SoCon.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (21-5, 10-2 SoCon) at Furman (14-13, 7-4 SoCon)
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Timmons Arena
Game Notes: Mercer | Furman
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com | Video: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer has won five straight in an all-time series the Bears lead, 10-4. Furman last won against Mercer on Jan. 15, 2015 in Macon. Since then, Mercer has owned the series and has won the last two meeting by 14 points apiece.

SCOUTING FURMAN
Furman enters Saturday's matchup locked in a tie for third place in the SoCon standings with ETSU after defeating Samford, 53-48, at home. The Paladins are a different team since last facing Mercer in Macon though, as two-time All-SoCon guard Whitney Bunn has since suffered a season-ending leg injury.
Stephania Oramas has filled in as a starter for Bunn, and dropped a season-high 15 points in Furman's win over Samford on Thursday.

TERRIFIC TWENTY
With Mercer's win over UNCG last week, the Bears solidified their third consecutive 20-win season. This is the second time in program history that Mercer has had three straight 20-win seasons and the first time in the NCAA era.

Head Coach Susie Gardner has led Mercer to four 20-win campaigns in five seasons. This also marks the second time that Mercer has won 20 or more games in the regular season as a NCAA DI program.
Mercer's 21st win, which came at Wofford on Thursday, marked the second-most wins in program history since joining the NCAA Division I.

STELLAR START
Mercer has started the season with a 21-5 record, the best under Coach Gardner. It is also the best start for the program since Mercer went 21-5 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.

ROAD WARRIORS
Mercer is 9-3 on the road this season. Additionally, Mercer is 15-4 in SoCon road games since joining the league.

MARKING A MILESTONE
In last week's win over Western Carolina, Kahlia Lawrence hit her 1,500th career point, making her just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,500 points. 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.

Lawrence added to the milestone count by grabbing her 500th career rebound Thursday at Wofford, becoming only the fifth player in program history to have career figures of 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.
With 1,532 points, Lawrence is second among active scorers in the SoCon. Sitting just behind Furman's Whitney Bunn, whose career was cut short earlier this month, Lawrence needs seven more points to become the league's active career leader in points scored.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
This season, Mercer has continued to put on a show offensively. The Bears are atop the SoCon rankings in scoring offense (66.0 ppg) and scoring margin (9.7). Mercer also ranks first in assists per game (14.5), after dishing out 15 at Wofford to vault the Terriers, who recorded 13.

In SoCon games, Mercer is first in assists per game (14.5) and scoring margin (9.6) while ranking second in scoring offense (64.7 ppg).

IT'S FOR FREE!
As a team, the Bears have connected on 72.4 percent of their attempts from the free throw line this season. Mercer ranks second in the league and 86th nationally in free throw percentage. Mercer has hit over 80 percent of its free throws in nine games this season. Additionally, Mercer has connected on 70+ percent of free throw attempts in 10 of 12 SoCon games. The Bears hit 9-of-11 at the charity stripe at Wofford Thursday and limited the Terriers to zero attempts.

Kahlia Lawrence ranks third in the SoCon with a 79.1 free throw percentage, having connected on 68 of 86 attempts. Sydni Means is 75-of-99 from the charity stripe, putting her seventh in the league with a 75.8 percentage.

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY
Kahlia Lawrence is leading Mercer and ranks second in the SoCon with 18.0 points per game. The junior also ranks 47th nationally in ppg. She has reached double figures in scoring 22 times this season, including 16 of the last 17 games, and topped 20 points in 10 games.

Lawrence has scored 20+ points in six of 12 SoCon games, putting her atop the league standings with 18.9 ppg in SoCon play.

DUBS ON DUBS ON DUBS
Mercer is outscoring its opponents by 9.7 ppg this season, which is buoyed by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Kahlia Lawrence (18.0 ppg), KeKe Calloway (12.2 ppg) and Sydni Means (10.8 ppg) are leading the Bears offensively this season.

The Bears also have two players -- Lawrence (18.9 ppg), Means (12.3 ppg) -- averaging double figures in SoCon games. KeKe Calloway (8.6 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 172 assists and is averaging 6.6 apg, both of which lead the conference. She is ranked 11th and 12th nationally in both total assists and apg. Means also leads the conference with a 3.37 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks fourth nationally.

In SoCon play, Means is averaging 7.1 apg and has dished out a total of 85 assists, once again 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 72 steals and 2.77 steals per game and leads the conference in both categories. She ranks 18th 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 last month, 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 24th nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 56.3 points per game. Mercer has held its opponents to less than 60 points in 16 games and less than 50 points in eight games this season.

In league action, Mercer's opponents are averaging 55.2 ppg. The Bears have held SoCon opponents to less than 60 points in nine of the 12 games so far. Mercer limited Wofford to 46 points Thursday, keyed by holding the Terriers to only three points in the fourth quarter.

BEARS ON THE BOARDS
Amanda Thompson leads Mercer on the boards with 6.5 rebounds per game this season and ranks seventh among SoCon players in the category. Thompson is closely trailed by Alex Williams, who has tallied 6.3 rpg and ranks eighth in the league.

Williams is leading the Bears in SoCon play with 7.1 rpg, followed by Kahlia Lawrence (5.1) Thompson (4.9). Williams is seventh in the league in rebounding against SoCon opponents.

SMOOTH CRIMINALS
As a team, Mercer has grabbed 254 steals and is averaging 9.8 steals per game, leading the league in both categories. Additionally, Mercer ranks 37th nationally in total steals and 51th 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 last week 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 10.2 turnovers per game. Mercer is also fifth in the nation in turnover margin, as the Bears have recorded a +7.65 turnover margin thus far. Mercer is forcing 17.81 turnovers per game, ranking second in the SoCon and 84th nationally.

Mercer has committed just 9.3 turnovers a game in SoCon play and has a turnover margin of 5.17, leading the conference in both categories.

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.

Mercer Seeks Fifth Straight Win, Faces Furman Saturday

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Kahlia Lawrence

Sydni Means

Amanda Thompson

Alex Williams

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