Bears to take on Wake Forest in Season Opener

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball squad will jump start its 2018-19 campaign tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. The contest will be played at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial (LJVM) Coliseum.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (0-0) at Wake Forest (1-0)
Location: Winston-Salem, N.C. | LJVM Coliseum
Live Stats: wakeforestsports.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Wake Forest

Preseason Favorites
The Bears have claimed three consecutive Southern Conference Regular Season titles coming into the 2018-19 campaign. Mercer was slated to finish first in both the coaches and media poll for the upcoming season, tying ETSU for first in the coaches poll. The Bears held the top slot with one more first-place votes than the Bucs. ETSU was picked to finish second in the media poll.

All-SoCon Recognition
KeKe Calloway was tabbed as the 2018-19 Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Calloway returns as the league-leader in points with 16.9 points per outing. Calloway also buried 99 three pointers on the season, setting a Mercer and SoCon record for threes in a single campaign. The Bears have won four consecutive SoCon Player of the Year honors since joining the league. Calloway was joined on the preseason All-SoCon squad by fellow teammate Amanda Thompson. The senior forward concluded the season with 7.2 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Thompson may not be a stat sheet stuffer, but she will fill up all of the hustle stats on both sides of the court.

Mid-Major Love
Mercer will begin the season as the No. 14 squad in the CollegeInsider.com preseason poll. The Bears are joined by Chattanooga (receiving votes) as the only two SoCon squads inside the preseason poll. Mercer was ranked inside the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll each week a season ago, climbing all the way into the top three before the season concluded.

Transition Offense to Transition Coaching
Sydni Means concluded her playing career as one of the top point guards in program history, finishing second in career assists with 686 and career steals with 246. Means dished 264 assists as a senior, setting a new program record for assists in a single season. Means also led the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.80). The former Mercer great is now in charge of coaching the point guards for the Bears, making her debut as an assistant coach in Winston-Salem on Friday.

Record Setting
The Bears are coming off a record-setting season in which Mercer finished with 30 wins to set a program record. The Bears also went on a 27-game winning streak to set a program record for the longest said streak. During the 30-win season, Susie Gardner became the all-time winningest coach in Mercer history with 144 wins in just eight seasons. Mercer enters the season having eclipsed 20 wins in four consecutive seasons, holding an overall record of 99-34.

Series History
Mercer and Wake Forest do not have a long history of competing with one another, having met on the hardcourt just four times in program history. The Bears are 1-3 all-time against Wake Forest, claiming the first meeting against the Demon Deacons by the final score of 86-47 on Jan. 23, 1979. Wake Forest has won three consecutive games against Mercer, including the most recent meeting on Nov. 23, 2011 by the final score of 90-44. The Bears are 1-2 against Wake Forest when playing in Winston-Salem.

Dealing with the Demon Deacons
Wake Forest jump started its season on Tuesday, earning a 60-53 win over Towson in Winston-Salem. Ivana Raca concluded the game with a double-double, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Gina Conti (13) and Ona Udoh (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Demon Deacons. Elisa Penna, Wake Forest's perimeter threat, finished with just six points and struggled from beyond the arc going 0-6.

Make no mistake, Penna is the go-to scorer for Wake Forest, finishing with 15.8 points per game a season ago. The Senior forward was the lone Wake Forest student-athlete to be named to the preseason All-ACC squad. Penna was also placed on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List which is presented to the top small forward in the country.

As a team, Wake Forest was picked to finish 12th out of 15 in both the coaches and media poll for the preseason ACC standings. The Demon Deacons finished 14-17 last season, including 6-8 in games played in the LJVM Coliseum. The last winning season for Wake Forest came in 2015-16 when the squad concluded the year with a 17-16 overall mark.

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 to take on Wake Forest in Season Opener

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Sydni Means

Amanda Thompson

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