Bears Return Home to Host Spartans

Thursday, January 18

Macon, Ga.

7 P.M.

Mercer University

UNCG

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Photo by: Judy Stapleton

1/17/2018 1:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Tickets Game Notes

By: David Fox

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Women's Basketball returns to Hawkins Arena tomorrow to host the Spartans of UNCG in a SoCon showdown. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and will be the first of back-to-back home contests this week for Mercer. The Bears will then host Western Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (16-2, 3-0) vs. UNCG (8-11, 2-2)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
TV: ESPN3
TV Talent: Todd Wilson, Sybil Blalock & Avery Braxton
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG
Promotion: MU Miracle Night - come out and support MU Miracle and join the women's basketball team in giving donations to the charitable cause

Baker's Dozen
Mercer enters Thursday's showdown on a 13-game winning streak, most recently defeating Samford by the final score of 73-59 in Birmingham, Ala. The Bears 13-game winning streak is the longest in program history since joining the NCAA Division I level. The previous record was 12 set in 2012-13. The program record for consecutive wins is 21 set in 1973 when the Bears competed at the AIAW Division I level.

Creeping on Milestones
The Bears are nearing several milestones heading down the stretch, most notably Kahlia Lawrence is three points away from the 2,000-point plateau. KeKe Calloway is just eight points shy of 1,000 career points, while Sydni Means is 165 points shy of 1,000. Rachel Selph rounds out the milestone watch, needing 23 more blocks to reach 100 career blocks.

In Comparison
The Bears' numbers speak for themselves this season, knocking down 43.5 percent of their shots, including 36.5 from downtown. Mercer has already netted 105 three pointers on the season, averaging 5.8 per contest. Last season, the Bears knocked down 134 threes at 4.2 per game. Calloway led the Bears last season with 68 threes, a personal season-high for the now junior guard. Calloway is on pace to shatter that mark as she has already drained 67 triples this season. Lawrence has already set a personal season-best with 23 three pointers made this year and is looking to add more to cap off her illustrious career.

Home Sweet Home
Mercer enters Thursday's contest having played five consecutive games on the road. The Bears gladly return home to the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena where Mercer is 6-1 on the season, the only loss coming to Georgia (72-54) on Nov. 19. Since the loss to the Lady Bulldogs, the Bears are 5-0 at home. Thursday's tilt will be the first home game for Mercer in the 2018 calendar year.

Last Time Out
Mercer is coming off a hard-fought 73-59 victory over Samford on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The Bears were successful in pushing the pace of play to their tempo in the second half. Mercer got off to a slow start in the opening quarter, trailing the Bulldogs 19-14. The Bears then outscored Samford 25-13 in the second quarter to take the seven point advantage for good. Mercer built its lead to as much as 16 points as Samford's offense was unable to keep up with the red hot Bears.

Lawrence led the way for Mercer, netting 31 points on the day. The senior guard also buried a season-high 14 field goals, including 2-of-4 from downtown. Calloway, Means and Amanda Thompson each finished the game with 10 points.

Series History
The Bears have never dropped a contest to the Spartans, holding an 8-0 record against UNCG. Mercer is 3-0 at home, most recently besting the Spartans by the final score of 58-47 on Feb. 11, 2017. The Bears have posted 219 points (73 per game) against the Spartans at home, surrendering just 156 points (52 per game).

Slaying the Spartans
UNCG enters the game with an 8-11 overall record, including 2-2 in conference play. After dropping their first two conference games, the Spartans have rebounded with wins over Wofford (66-51) and a double-overtime victory against Furman (76-74). UNCG is 2-7 in games played on the road this season.

The Spartans are led by SoCon Player of the Week, Ije Ajemba, with 12.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Ajemba ranks fourth in the NCAA in rebounds (234) and ninth in rebounds per game (12.3). Against Wofford, Ajemba set a new UNCG record with 21 rebounds, adding 17 points in the mix. Ajemba has already set a Spartan single-season record with 10 double-doubles this season. Nadine Soliman is averaging a team-high 13.3 points to provide a dangerous one-two punch with Ajemba.

As a team, UNCG averages 64.4 points per game and is the SoCon's leader in rebounding margin at +5.4 per game. The Spartans are also the youngest team in Division I with 12-of-14 players (86 percent) being underclassmen.

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.