Bears To Face Terriers In SoCon Tournament

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women's basketball team will begin play in the Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday when the second-seeded Bears take on No. 7 Wofford at 4 p.m. in Asheville, N.C.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, March 2 | 4 p.m.
Teams: No. 2 Mercer (23-5, 12-2 SoCon) vs. No. 7 Wofford (13-16, 3-11 SoCon)
Location: Asheville, N.C. | U.S. Cellular Center
Game Notes: Mercer | Wofford
Live Stats: SoConSports.com | Video: ESPN3 | Radio: Fox Sports 1670
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
With Saturday's win over Samford, Mercer secured its second consecutive SoCon regular season title. This marks the second time in program history that Mercer has won back-to-back championships in the NCAA DI era. Mercer also won the 1991 NSWAC and 1992 TAAC regular season titles.

TERRIFIC TWENTY
With Mercer's win over UNCG a few 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 23 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 finished the regular season with a 23-5 record, giving the Bears the program's best regular season record in NCAA DI play. It is also the best start for the program since Mercer went 23-5 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.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
The Bears are currently in the midst of a six-game win streak, marking the third time this season that Mercer has won five or more games in a row. Prior to this season, Mercer has only had nine win streaks of six or more games. The Bears' longest win streak in program history is 14, which occurred in the 1984-85 season, when Mercer played in the NCAA DII. The Bears' longest win streak in NCAA DI history is 12 during the 2012-13 season.

SOCON TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Mercer has improved its SoCon Tournament performance each season. In 2015, the Bears fell in the semifinals to ETSU and in 2016, Mercer finished at the tournament runner-up after a narrow loss to Chattanooga. Last year, KeKe Calloway and Sydni Means were named to the All-Tournament First Team and Kahlia Lawrence was tapped to the Second Team.

ROAD WARRIORS
Mercer is 11-3 away from Hawkins Arena this season. The SoCon Tournament will provide Mercer with the first neutral site game of the season. Over the past two years, Mercer has gone 3-2 in Asheville.

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 two weeks ago, becoming only the fifth player in program history to have career figures of 1,500 points and 500 rebounds.

With 1,570 points, Lawrence is now the active career leader in points scored in the SoCon. Lawrence just edged Furman's Whitney Bunn two weeks ago as Bunn's career was cut short due to injury.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
This season, Mercer has continued to put on a show offensively. The Bears are atop the SoCon rankings in scoring offense (66.4 ppg) and scoring margin (10.1). Mercer also ranks first in assists per game (14.4) and second in total assists (203), just behind Wofford's 404.

In SoCon games, Mercer finished first in scoring offense (65.8) and assists per game (14.4), while ranking second in scoring margin (10.3) and field goal percentage (42.7).

IT'S FOR FREE
As a team, the Bears have connected on 72.6 percent of their attempts from the free throw line this season. Mercer ranks second in the league and 83rd 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 12 of 14 SoCon games. Against Samford in the regular season finale, Mercer was 18-for-23 from the free throw line for 78.3 percent.

Kahlia Lawrence leads the SoCon with a 78.2 free throw percentage, having connected on 79 of 101 attempts. Additionally, Lawrence hit 78.6 percent of her free throws in SoCon games, including a 10-for-14 performance at Samford on Saturday, tying her career high for made free throws. Sydni Means is 76-of-101 from the charity stripe, putting her third in the league with a 75.2 percentage.

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY
Kahlia Lawrence is leading Mercer and ranks second in the SoCon with 18.1 points per game. The junior also ranks 53rd nationally in ppg. She has reached double figures in scoring 23 times this season, including 17 of the last 19 games, and topped 20 points in 11 games.

Lawrence scored 20+ points in seven of 14 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 10.1 ppg this season, which is buoyed by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Kahlia Lawrence (18.1 ppg), KeKe Calloway (12.0 ppg) and Sydni Means (10.5 ppg) are leading the Bears offensively this season.

The Bears also have two players -- Lawrence (18.9 ppg), Means (11.4 ppg) -- who averaged double figures in SoCon games. In SoCon play, Mercer outscored opponents by 10.3 ppg.

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 187 assists and is averaging 6.7 apg, both of which lead the conference. She is also ranked 13th nationally in total assists and 12th in apg. Means also leads the conference with a 3.53 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks third nationally. Means' 187 assists has earned her another spot on the SoCon's single-season assist leaderboard. Her 189 assists in 2016 ranks ninth and her 2017 total currently ranks 10th.

In SoCon play, Means averaged 7.1 apg and dished out a total of 100 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 74 steals and 2.64 steals per game and once again leads the conference in both categories. She ranks 30th nationally in total steals and 33rd 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 56.4 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 averaged 55.5 ppg. The Bears have held SoCon opponents to less than 60 points in 10 of the 14 games. Mercer limited Furman to just 47 points two weeks ago, the third straight game in which the Bears' opponent failed to score more than 50 points.

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 6.2 rpg and ranks eighth in the league.

Williams led the Bears in SoCon play with 6.9 rpg, followed by Thompson (5.2) and Kahlia Lawrence (4.9). Williams ranked seventh in the league in rebounding against SoCon opponents.

SMOOTH CRIMINALS
As a team, Mercer has grabbed 274 steals and is averaging 9.8 steals per game, leading the league in both categories. Additionally, Mercer ranks 53rd nationally in total steals and 47th 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 three 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 9.9 turnovers per game. Mercer is also fourth in the nation in turnover margin, as the Bears have recorded a +7.82 turnover margin thus far. Mercer is forcing 17.71 turnovers per game, ranking first in the SoCon and 83rd nationally.

Mercer committed just 8.9 turnovers a game in SoCon play and had a turnover margin of 5.86, leading the conference in both categories. Against Samford on Saturday, Mercer turned the ball over just five times, a SoCon season low for the Bears.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer owns an 8-1 advantage in the series with Wofford, including a pair of wins this season. Mercer also defeated Wofford, 75-54, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 SoCon Tournament.

SCOUTING WOFFORD
Chloe Wanink leads Wofford with 16.0 ppg as well as 16.6 ppg in SoCon play. Maria Corella is also averaging double figures with 10.0 ppg and 11.3 ppg in league action.

Grayson Pinholster leads the Terriers on the boards with 7.6 rpg and 7.8 boards a game in SoCon play. Wanink is second both overall (5.7 rpg) and in league games (5.6 rpg).

As a team, Wofford has been outscored by 1.2 ppg, a margin which increased to 6.8 ppg in SoCon play. The Terriers are averaging 62.4 ppg and 36.2 rpg, ranking fourth and fifth in the conference, respectively.

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

Kahlia Lawrence

Sydni Means

Amanda Thompson

Alex Williams

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