Mercer Announces 2018-19 Women’s Basketball Schedule

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

Mercer Announces 2018-19 Women’s Basketball Schedule

9/3/2018 7:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Defending SoCon Tournament Champions will square off against 22 opponents in a 29-game schedule

By: David Fox

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Women's Basketball Head Coach Susie Gardner has announced the team's 2018-19 schedule on Monday evening, revealing the 29-game regular season slate.

To see the schedule in its entirety on MercerBears.com, click here.

To purchase your season tickets, click here.

No Walk in the Park
Mercer's nonconference slate holds 15 games, six of which will be featured against opponents who competed in postseason play during the 2017-18 campaign. Florida State, George Washington and Georgia played in the NCAA Tournament last season, with the Lady Bulldogs squaring off against Mercer in the opening round in Athens, Ga. Central Florida and Jacksonville competed in the WNIT, while UNC Asheville partook in the WBI. The Bears are set to take on Florida, Central Florida, Florida State and UNC Asheville at home, meanwhile traveling to Wake Forest, George Washington and Jacksonville.

Let's go for Four
Mercer claimed is third consecutive Southern Conference regular season title in 2017-18, also notching the program's first ever SoCon Tournament Title for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Mercer concluded the season with a 30-3 overall record, defeating ETSU in the SoCon Championship thanks in large part to a 29-point performance from three-time SoCon Player of the Year, Kahlia Lawrence. The Bears will open conference action on Jan. 12 by hosting Samford, concluding SoCon play on March 2 with a home tilt against Wofford.

The Bears' Nucleus
Despite graduating Lawrence and current assistant coach Sydni Means, Mercer is set to make another push on the backs of a strong returning class. KeKe Calloway returns as the top scorer for Mercer, averaging a personal-best 16.9 points a season ago to rank third in the SoCon. Callaway also knocked down a program and SoCon single-season record 99 threes, becoming Mercer's all-time leader in career triples with 219. Mercer welcomes back Amanda Thompson and Rachel Selph who combined for 13.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Fresh Faces
The Bears welcome a slew of freshmen to the squad, bringing in six fresh faces for the upcoming campaign. Mercer locked in a pair of point guards in Amoria Neal-Tysor (North Carolina) and Tia Benvenuti (Virginia). The Bears also went international, snatching Emily Stradling from Wales and Summer Pahl from Kitchener, Ontario. Jaron Stallworth (Georgia) and Cierra Scott (Kentucky) round out the young talent arriving in Macon.

Conference Play
The home-away format of league scheduling will see all seven conference opponents come to Macon. Conference play will determine the seeding for the SoCon Tournament, set to take place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C. from March 7-10.

Gardner on the Nonconference Slate:
"It's a very difficult schedule and we play many of the teams we played last season. We have also added Wake Forest, Florida, Memphis, Bowling Green and Florida State. We have added some heavy hitters in terms of the nonconference schedule. It will be interesting because there are some questions about this current team that need to be answered and we will learn very quickly what we are made of."

Gardner on the Season Expectations:
"I don't have win-loss expectations and I never do. Our nonconference schedule will show us what our strengths and weaknesses are. We have five seniors, four of which have started at different times throughout their careers, so that is comforting knowing they have what it takes. The freshmen have also been very exceptional in their work ethic this past summer."

2018-19 Mercer Women's Basketball Schedule (Times to be released later)

Date	Opponent	Location
November 9	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem, N.C.
November 12	Georgia Southern	Statesboro, Ga.
November 15	Florida	Macon, Ga.
November 18	Central Florida	Macon, Ga.
November 23	Memphis	Conway, S.C.
November 25	Bowling Green	Conway, S.C.
November 28	Georgia	Athens, Ga.
December 1	Kennesaw State	Macon, Ga.
December 5	Florida State	Macon, Ga.
December 9	Charlotte	Macon, Ga.
December 18	Howard	Washington, D.C.
December 21	George Washington	Washington, D.C.
December 30	UNC Asheville	Macon, Ga.
January 2	Jacksonville	Jacksonville, Fla.
January 6	Columbia	Macon, Ga.
January 12	Samford*	Macon, Ga.
January 17	Western Carolina*	Cullowhee, N.C.
January 19	UNCG*	Greensboro, N.C.
January 24	Chattanooga*	Macon, Ga.
January 26	ETSU*	Macon, Ga.
January 31	Wofford*	Spartanburg, S.C.
February 2	Furman*	Greenville, S.C.
February 9	Samford*	Birmingham, Ala.
February 14	UNCG*	Macon, Ga.
February 16	Western Carolina*	Macon, Ga.
February 21	ETSU*	Johnson City, Tenn.
February 23	Chattanooga*	Chattanooga, Tenn.
February 28	Furman*	Macon, Ga.
March 2	Wofford*	Macon, Ga.
March 7-10	SoCon Championship	Asheville, N.C.

* – SoCon Game
Bold – Home Game (Hawkins Arena)

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