Bears Clash with 49ers in Saturday Showdown

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team will conclude its three-game home stand with Charlotte tomorrow at 1 p.m. inside Hawkins Arena. The game was originally slated to take place on Sunday but has been moved up due to inclement weather in the Charlotte area on Sunday.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018 | 1 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-5) vs. Charlotte (5-2)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN3
TV Talent: Todd Wilson and Sybil Blalock, Avery Braxton (Sideline)
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Charlotte
Promotion: Toys for Tots – New toys will be accepted outside of Hawkins Arena starting at noon. Bring a toy and get free admission to the game.

Making her Mark
KeKe Calloway received both Southern Conference Player of the Week and Player of the Month this week. Calloway collected her second player of the week award in three weeks on Tuesday after averaging 23.0 points, including netting 25 points against Kennesaw State. She then earned her second career player of the month award after averaging 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game through the month of November. Calloway also knocked down 16 three pointers on the month, averaging just over two threes made per game. Calloway exploded for 32 and 30 points against Georgia Southern and Florida for her two 30-point outings of the season. Calloway also picked up her first career double-double against the Eagles, adding 10 assists.

Dominating the Paint
Despite being undersized against Florida State, the Bears had their way with the Seminoles in the paint. Mercer tallied 34 points in the paint compared to just 20 from Florida State. The Bears have won the points in the paint battle in three of the last four games, only falling to Georgia. Mercer's 34-point performance in the paint on Wednesday is a season-high for the Bears' offense

The Hawk
Mercer will wrap up its three-game home stand with Charlotte on Saturday, concluding the longest home stretch of the season for the Bears. Mercer's contest against the 49ers will be the 200th game that the Mercer Women's Basketball program has played inside Hawkins Arena. Through 199 games, Mercer holds a 115-84 overall record, including 73- 48 under head coach Susie Gardner.

Tis the Season
The Bears have been in the giving mood all season long and continue to display that mood leading up to Saturday's contest. The Bears are first in the SoCon in assists per game (14.7) and assistto-turnover ratio (1.28). The Bears have recorded more assists than their opponents in six of the first nine games on the season.

Last Time Out
Mercer and Florida State competed in a nail biter on Wednesday night with the Seminoles walking away the victor, 57-56. Mercer led for over 30 minutes of the game before surrendering the advantage late in the game. The Bears jumped out to a first-quarter advantage, taking the 16- 11 lead into the second frame. Mercer added to the lead before halftime, reaching a game-high 12 point lead twice before the Seminoles cut the Bears' advantage to 34-26 at the break. Florida State began to slowly chip away at the Mercer lead, trimming the Orange & Black advantage to three heading into the final quarter of play. The Seminoles took the advantage with seven minutes left in the game and then the two squads would go back and forth from there. Florida State hit the final shot of the game with 2:00 left to take the one-point lead. However, the drama did not end there as we saw five turnovers in the closing minutes. The Seminoles were whistled for a travel with three seconds left, shortly before Mercer gave the ball back with 1.4 seconds following a charging call.

KeKe Calloway led Mercer with 21 points, knocking down five three pointers. Amanda Thompson added 18 points, tying her career high set against Bowling Green earlier this season. Thompson also chipped in for eight rebounds.

Series History
Charlotte leads the all-time series 3-2 over the Mercer Bears. However, Mercer won the most recent meeting, defeating the 49ers in Charlotte a season ago by the final score of 90-74, snapping a three-game slide against Charlotte. The Bears are 1-0 against Charlotte when playing at Hawkins Arena.

Who are the 49ers
Charlotte enters the weekend with a 5-2 record, most recently falling to Wake Forest (69-43), ending a three-game winning streak. Charlotte is led in scoring by Jade Phillips with 16.3 points per game.

Laia Raventos and Jazmin Harris each have 9.9 points to rank second on the squad. Phillips is also the leading rebounder for the 49ers at 7.7 per game.

Charlotte poses trouble with perimeter defense, allowing just .234 percent to fall from beyond the three-point line. The 49ers average more points, three pointers, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than their opponents.

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

Amanda Thompson

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