Bears And Bulldogs Battle In Regular Season Finale

MACON, Ga. – Mercer is on the road to take on Samford on Saturday afternoon in the final game of the regular season. Mercer is also looking to secure a share of the 2017 SoCon Regular Season Championship.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, February 25 | 3 p.m. ET
Teams: Mercer (22-5, 11-2 SoCon) vs. Samford (11-17, 4-9 SoCon)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. | Pete Hanna Center
Game Notes: Mercer
Live Stats: SamfordSports.com | Video: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

TERRIFIC TWENTY
With Mercer's win over UNCG two weeks ago, 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 22 wins also ranks second all-time in program history since joining the NCAA Division I. Last season's 24 wins is the most in the NCAA DI era for the Bears.

STELLAR START
Mercer has started the season with a 22-5 record, the best under Coach Gardner. It is also the best start for the program since Mercer went 22-5 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 10-3 on the road this season. Additionally, Mercer is 16-4 in SoCon road games since joining the league.

MARKING SOME MILESTONES
Two weeks ago, 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 last week, becoming only the fifth player in program history to have career figures of 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.

With 1,539 points, Lawrence is now the active career leader in points scored in the SoCon. Lawrence just edged Furman's Whitney Bunn last week as Bunn's career was cut short due to injury.

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS?
A win on Saturday would give Mercer at least a share of the SoCon regular season championship. If Chattanooga were to lose its game against Wofford, Mercer would win the title outright. The Bears also won the 2016 SoCon regular season championship, sharing the title with Chattanooga.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
This season, Mercer has continued to put on a show offensively. The Bears are atop the SoCon rankings in scoring offense (66.1 ppg) and scoring margin (10.1). Mercer also ranks first in assists per game (14.4) and second in total assists (390), just behind Wofford's 394.

In SoCon games, Mercer is first in scoring offense (65.0), scoring margin (10.5) and assists per game (14.5).

IT'S FOR FREE
As a team, the Bears have connected on 72.3 percent of their attempts from the free throw line this season. Mercer ranks second in the league and 85th 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 11 of 13 SoCon games. Against Furman last week, Mercer was 7-for-10 from the chairty stripe.

Kahlia Lawrence leads the SoCon with a 79.3 free throw percentage, having connected on 69 of 87 attempts. Lawrence has hit 81.0 percent of her free throws in SoCon games, boosting her season percentage. Sydni Means is 75-of-99 from the charity stripe, putting her second in the league with a 75.8 percentage.

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY
Kahlia Lawrence is leading Mercer and ranks second in the SoCon with 17.6 points per game. The junior also ranks 63rd nationally in ppg. She has reached double figures in scoring 22 times this season, including 16 of the last 18 games, and topped 20 points in 10 games.

Lawrence has scored 20+ points in six of 13 SoCon games, putting her atop the league standings with 18.0 ppg in SoCon play.

DUBS ON DUBS ON DUBS
Mercer is outscoring its opponents by 10.1 ppg this season, which is buoyed by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Kahlia Lawrence (17.6 ppg), KeKe Calloway (12.3 ppg) and Sydni Means (10.4 ppg) are leading the Bears offensively this season.

The Bears also have two players -- Lawrence (18.0 ppg), Means (11.3 ppg) -- averaging double figures in SoCon games. KeKe Calloway (9.1 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 181 assists and is averaging 6.7 apg, both of which lead the conference. She is also ranked 12th nationally in both total assists and apg. Means also leads the conference with a 3.55 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks third nationally.

In SoCon play, Means is averaging 7.2 apg and has dished out a total of 94 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 73 steals and 2.70 steals per game and once again leads the conference in both categories. She ranks 27th 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 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 23rd nationally in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 55.9 points per game. Mercer has held its opponents to less than 60 points in 17 games and less than 50 points in nine games this season.

In league action, Mercer's opponents are averaging 54.5 ppg. The Bears have held SoCon opponents to less than 60 points in 10 of the 13 games so far. Mercer limited Furman to just 47 points last week, the third straight game in which the Bears' opponent has failed to score more than 50 points.

BEARS ON THE BOARDS
Amanda Thompson leads Mercer on the boards with 6.7 rebounds per game this season and ranks sixth 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 7.0 rpg, followed by Thompson (5.5) and Kahlia Lawrence (5.0). Williams is sixth in the league in rebounding against SoCon opponents.

SMOOTH CRIMINALS
As a team, Mercer has grabbed 267 steals and is averaging 9.9 steals per game, leading the league in both categories. Additionally, Mercer ranks 44th nationally in total steals and 46th 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 two weeks ago 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 10.1 turnovers per game. Mercer is also fourth in the nation in turnover margin, as the Bears have recorded a +7.89 turnover margin thus far. Mercer is forcing 17.96 turnovers per game, ranking first in the SoCon and 75th nationally.

Mercer has committed just 9.2 turnovers a game in SoCon play and has a turnover margin of 5.85, leading the conference in both categories.

KEKE FOR THREE
KeKe Calloway leads Mercer, ranks sixth in the conference and 150th nationally from outside the arc with 55 made three-pointers. She is also second in the SoCon and 34th nationally with 204 attempted treys. Calloway is averaging 2.04 three-pointers a game, putting her fifth in the conference and 164th in the nation.

Earlier this season, Calloway earned a spot on the Bears' career made three-pointers leaderboard. She currently sits in eighth place with 107 made three-pointers.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer owns a 12-5 advantage in the series with Samford and has won each of the last nine games. Mercer also has a 5-3 record when facing Samford in Birmingham.

SCOUTING SAMFORD
Samford currently sits in sixth place in the SoCon standings with a 4-9 mark in league action. In their last game, the Bulldogs defeated Wofford, 55-48, in Spartanburg.

Hannah Nichols leads Samford with 13.5 points per game, followed by Kassidy Blevins with 9.4 ppg. Nichols has also tallied a team-leading 11.2 ppg in SoCon play.

Lydia McGee is the leading rebounder for Samford with 4.6 boards a game and 4.5 rebounds per game in SoCon games.

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.

Bears And Bulldogs Battle In Regular Season Finale

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Kahlia Lawrence

Sydni Means

Amanda Thompson

Alex Williams

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