Mercer Travels to the Beach for Holiday Tournament

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball squad (2-2) will kick off the Coastal Carolina Thanksgiving Classic on Friday at 4 p.m. with the Memphis Tigers (1-3). The Bears will then turn around on Sunday to square off with Bowling Green (3-1) who will play host Coastal Carolina on Friday.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Friday, Nov. 23, 2018 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (2-2) vs. Memphis (1-3)
Location: Conway, S.C. | HTC Center
Live Stats: goccusports.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Memphis

The SoCon has Spoken
KeKe Calloway was chosen as this week's SoCon Player of the Week, announced by the league-office on Tuesday afternoon. Calloway finished the week with 19.0 points, 7.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in Mercer's two matchups.

Youth Movement
The Bears have a host of upperclassmen, while also having eight underclassmen. Mercer has relied heavily on sophomore guard, Shannon Titus who has averaged 9.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in her first full season as a starter. Jaron Stallworth joins Ally Welch as one of the first players off the bench for Coach Gardner and is one of five freshmen to have seen playing experience through the first four games.

Taking Care of Business
Despite tallying 18 turnovers to just 15 assists against the Knights on Sunday, the Bears have proven to be the best team early on in terms of ball security. Mercer is averaging 11.8 turnovers per game, leading the conference and ranking 13th in the NCAA. The Bears have forced 15.5 points per game, holding a turnover margin of +3.8.

Last Time Out
Mercer dropped its first home game of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to UCF by the final score of 76-42. The Bears hung tough with the Knights through the first two quarters, trailing by five heading into the locker room. However, UCF opened the flood gates in the third quarter, outscoring the Bears 18-2 as Mercer shot 1-of-11 in the frame. The Knights then outscored the Bears 25-12 in the final quarter, claiming the second half by the final of 43-14.

KeKe Calloway and Linnea Rosendal led the way for Mercer in the game with eight points apiece, breaking the Bears' streak of 74 consecutive games with a double-digit scorer. The last time that Mercer did not have a double-digit scorer was against Chattanooga on Feb. 20, 2016. Calloway added seven rebounds and five assists, while Amanda Thompson chipped in for five points and nine rebounds.

Series History
Mercer is 0-3 all-time against the Memphis Tigers. The Bears are 0-1 all-time against Memphis when played inside Macon and 0-2 when playing in Tennessee. This will be the first time that the two squads will meet on a neutral court. Mercer and Memphis last squared off on Nov. 19, 2004 when the Tigers claimed the 54-40 advantage in Memphis, Tenn.

Taming the Tiger
Memphis is 1-3 on the season heading into the Coastal Carolina Thanksgiving Classic. Most recently, the Tigers dropped a 66-50 showdown against Louisiana Tech on Sunday in Memphis. The Tigers have dropped three consecutive games after kicking off the season with a 68-67 win over Jackson State.

The Tigers are scoring 59.5 points per game thus far, while allowing 73.8 to opponents. On the season, Memphis is knocking down .345 percent of its shots, including .262 from beyond the arc. The Tigers struggle stopping opponents on the floor, however they excel in the rebounding category, holding a 42.5-38.3 advantage on the boards.

Jamirah Shutes leads the team in points per game with 13.3 points per game, while Alana Davis has proven to be the go-to player, averaging 12.0 points and 10.0 boards. Taylor Barnes is the primary dime dropper, averaging 4.8 assists per contest.

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 Travels to the Beach for Holiday Tournament

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Linnea Rosendal

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

Ally Welch

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