Bears to Cap off Road Trip with Spartans

Saturday, January 19

Greensboro, N.C.

4 P.M.

Mercer University

UNCG

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

1/18/2019 2:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Game Notes

Mercer will square off at UNCG on Saturday afternoon

By: David Fox

MACON, Ga. – Mercer Women's Basketball will close its two-game road trip with a showdown against the UNCG Spartans tomorrow at 4 p.m. Mercer enters the game on a two-game winning streak, both of which have come against Southern Conference foes.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (10-7, 2-0) at UNCG (7-11, 1-2)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Fleming Gym
Live Stats: uncgspartans.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB
Game Notes: Mercer

Terrific in the Tar Heel State
The Bears have seen a lot of success in the state of North Carolina, holding a perfect 25-0 combined mark against conference foes Western Carolina and UNCG. Mercer is off to a 1-0 start on the North Carolina road trip after defeating the Catamounts on Thursday by the final score of 69-67. Since the arrival of Coach Garder, Mercer is 26-9 when playing games in the Old North State, including a perfect 9-0 mark a season ago with four wins in Asheville, N.C. Mercer is 1-1 in the state of North Carolina this season with the one loss being a season-opening contest at Wake Forest.

SoCon Supremacy
Mercer finished 14-0 in the regular season last year against foes from the Southern Conference. The Bears carried that momentum into the tournament, posting a 3-0 mark against SoCon competitors in the conference tournament. Mercer has won 22 consecutive regular-season SoCon showdowns dating back to Feb. 4, 2017 when the run started with a 71-56 win over ETSU. Since joining the league, Mercer is 57-16 against SoCon opponents, including 49-13 in the regular season.

Just Keep it Coming
Amanda Thompson's free throw to give Mercer the 68-67 advantage over Western Carolina provided the senior forward with yet another double-double. Thompson finished Thursday's game with 10 points and 16 rebounds for her seventh consecutive double-double and ninth of the season. In SoCon play, Thompson is averaging 17 points and 13.5 rebounds through two games. While on the double-double streak, Thompson is averaging 18.0 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Thompson is now up to 13.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest this season.

Last Time Out
Mercer earned its first SoCon road win of the season on Thursday, clawing out a hard-fought 69-67 victory over Western Carolina. The Bears started off the game on an 8-4 run to set the pace early on. Mercer would later go on a 10-0 run to stretch its lead to double digits before taking the 22-12 advantage after the first quarter of play. Mercer jump started the second quarter with an 11-2 run to stretch its lead to 33-14. The Bears kept the Catamounts in check in the first half, taking a 47-28 advantage into the locker room. The Catamounts came out of the gate with a 20-10 response in the third quarter to trim the Mercer lead to just nine. Western Carolina carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, continuing to chip away at the Mercer lead before drawing even at 67 apiece following a three pointer with 35 seconds left. Mercer never allowed Western Carolina to take the lead in the closing seconds, going 2-of-4 at the line to claim the two-point victory. With under 10 seconds left, Amanda Thompson successfully forced a jump ball after tying up a Western Carolina attempt at the go-ahead basket.

KeKe Calloway led all scorers with 19, while Thompson added her seventh consecutive double-double (10 points, 16 boards). Shannon Titus (11) and Rachel Selph (10) also reached double digits for Mercer.

Series History
Mercer is 10-0 all-time against UNCG, including 5-0 when playing in Greensboro. The Bears finished 2-0 against the Spartans last season, winning by an average of 13 points.

Side Notes on the Spartans
UNCG enters Saturday's game with a 7-11 record, including 1-2 in conference play after earning a 55-54 victory over Samford on Thursday. The win snapped a string of five consecutive losses.

Nadine Soliman leads the team in points with 18.8, while also pulling down 7.5 rebounds. Te'ja Twitty is the team's leading rebounder at 7.7 boards per game, also posting 11.7 points.

As a team, UNCG leads the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.384), rebounding margin (+4.1), scoring defense (58.3) and three-point field goal percentage defensively (24.8). The Spartans also rank 11th in the NCAA in three-point defense.

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.