Bears Welcome Gators for Home Opener

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team will jump start its home schedule on Thursday night at 7 p.m. when the Bears welcome the Florida Gators into town. Mercer is fresh off a 79-72 victory over Georgia Southern on Monday to improve to 1-1. Meanwhile, the Gators have dropped their first two games of the new season.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (1-1) vs. Florida (0-2)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
Live Video: mercerbears.com/livevideo
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Todd Wilson and Sybil Blalock
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Florida

Scoring Aplenty
The Bears shot .464 from the field against Georgia Southern, knocking down 32 shots in the 79-72 victory. Four players scored in double figures against the Eagles on Monday, led by 32 points from KeKe Calloway. Rachel Selph buried a career-high 16 points, while Linnea Rosendal (13) and Shannon Titus (12) rounded out the Bears with double-digit scoring.

Filling Up the Stat Sheet
Shannon Titus was on a mission on Monday, proving to be the spark that the Bears needed for the victory. Titus finished the game with career-high numbers, including points (12), rebounds (5), assists (6) and steals (4). Titus was able to corral four offensive boards against the Eagles that led to second-chance points for the Bears.

Home Sweet Home
The Bears began their season with the first two games on the road this past week, falling to Wake Forest (69-54) before traveling to Statesboro to defeat Georgia Southern (79-72). Mercer will welcome Florida into Hawkins Arena where the Bears have seen success under head coach Susie Gardner. In the last three seasons, Mercer holds an astounding 37-6 mark inside "The Hawk". The Bears finished the 2017-18 season with an impressive 13-1 mark inside Hawkins Arena last season, falling victim to only Georgia. Mercer is 5-0 in home openers in the last five seasons and 6-2 overall with Gardner at the helm. As a program, the Bears hold a 34-14 overall mark in home openers.

Last Time Out
Mercer claimed its first win of the new season on Monday in Statesboro, Ga., upending in-state rival Georgia Southern by the final score of 79-72. The Bears and Eagles played even for much of the contest, with Mercer's largest lead being seven and Georgia Southern's being six. The Eagles held a two-point lead after one before the Bears tied the game up at halftime. The contest was neck-and-neck until the Bears outscored the Eagles 12-5 in the final three minutes of play, icing the win from the charity stripe.

KeKe Calloway led all scorers with 32 points, while also pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Calloway was effective from the free-throw line, finishing 8-of-10 (.800). Rachel Selph added a career-high 16 points, while Linnea Rosendal added 13. Shannon Titus contributed for a career-high 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Series History
Florida holds a 4-3 advantage all-time against the Bears, winning four unanswered showdowns in the series. The Gators most recently defeated Mercer by the final score of 72-61 on Jan. 28, 1991. Mercer's last win in the series came on Dec. 19, 1981, defeating Florida 87-85 in Macon, Ga. The Bears are 2-1 all-time in Macon, Ga. against Florida.

Containing the Chomp
Florida enters the game with an 0-2 record, falling to Gardner-Webb (60-58) in the season opener before dropping a tightly-contested showdown to rival Florida State (63-56). Florida was slated to finish in the bottom third of the SEC standings and are currently sitting in last early on in the season.

As a team, Florida is outshooting its opponents .383 to .357. However, the Gators have only converted .429 from the free throw line, shooting 9-of-21 from the stripe. Florida has size on its hands, outrebounding opponents 82-76 and forcing 34 turnovers in the first two contests.

The Gators are led in scoring by Funda Nakkasoglu, averaging 21.5 points per game and 3.5 boards. Delicia Washington returns as the most experienced Gator on the roster and is averaging 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.

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

Linnea Rosendal

Rachel Selph

Shannon Titus

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