No. 25 Bears to Face Bulldogs in SoCon Semifinals

Friday, March 2

Asheville, N.C.

11 A.M.

Mercer University

Samford

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

No. 25 Bears to Face Bulldogs in SoCon Semifinals

3/1/2018 6:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Top-seeded Mercer squares off with No. 5 seed Samford

By: David Fox

MACON, Ga. – The 25^th-ranked Bears rolled through Western Carolina in the opening round, defeating the Catamounts 75-44 in the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C. Mercer will now turn its focus to No. 5 seed Samford tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the SoCon Semifinals.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Friday, March 2, 2018 | 11 a.m.
Teams: No. 1 Mercer (28-2) vs. No. 5 Samford (15-15)
Location: Asheville, N.C. | U.S. Cellular Center
TV: ESPN3
TV Talent: Pete Yanity, Robin Muller, Stormy Buonantony
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
Radio: Fox Sports 1670, iHeartRadio, Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer

Not Slowing Down
Mercer defeated Western Carolina in the opening round of the 2018 SoCon Women's Basketball Championship, running its winning streak to 25. The Bears' last loss came on Nov. 24 to Western Kentucky in the GSU Thanksgiving Classic in Atlanta, Ga. Mercer's 25-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in program history, surpassing the 24-game streak set in 1973.

History in Asheville
The Bears are now 6-3 in the U.S. Cellular Center in four seasons under the SoCon umbrella. Mercer has competed in two consecutive SoCon Tournament title games, falling to Chattanooga in both games by the final scores of 65-57 (2016) and 61-59 (2017). The Bears entered the tournament as the top seed for the first time in program history, aiming to make a third trip to the championship game, with the third time being the charm.

Last Time Out
Mercer upended Western Carolina by the final score of 75-44 to kick off the 2018 SoCon Women's Championship. The Bears opened a 10-4 lead and did not look back, taking a 20-11 advantage after the first quarter. Mercer outscored the Catamounts 13-7 in the second frame to take the 33-18 advantage heading into the locker room. The Bears put the game away in the third quarter after doubling up the Catamounts 22-11 for the 26-point edge with 10 minutes remaining. Mercer coasted into the conference semifinals after defeating Western Carolina 20-15 in the final quarter for the 31-point victory.

Kahlia Lawrence led all scorers with 23 points in just 27 minutes of action. KeKe Calloway buried three from downtown en route to an 18-point performance. Amanda Thompson chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. The Bears outrebounded the Catamounts 35-34. Most impressive, Mercer forced 24 turnovers, while only coughing the ball up twice.

Series History
Mercer is 16-5 all-time against the Bulldogs from Samford, having won 12 consecutive games in the series. The Bears swept Samford on the season, winning 73-59 in Birmingham, followed by a narrow 48-45 triumph in Macon.

Stopping Samford
Samford enters the conference semifinals game after a narrow 59-58 victory over the fourthseeded Furman Paladins. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Olivia Crozier with 17 points and five rebounds. Hannah Nichols ended the game with 13 points and 10 boards.

Nichols was named to the Third Team All-SoCon as voted on by the coaches, while being named Second Team All-SoCon by the conference's media. Nichols is the anchor to the squad, averaging 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds.

The Bulldogs' win over Furman snapped a twogame skid as Samford drop the final two games of the regular season to ETSU and Chattanooga. As a team, Samford is averaging 58.4 points per game, while holding opponents to just 61.7 points.

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.