Bears Host Western Carolina on Saturday

MACON, Ga. – Mercer faces a quick turnaround as it hosts Western Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hawkins Arena in the Bears' second game in three days.

The Bears (17-7, 9-0 SoCon) are aiming for their 10th conference win of the season; no other league opponent has more than seven after Thursday's slew of games. The contest will be broadcasted live via ESPN+.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 16 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (17-7, 9-0 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (4-21, 0-10 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

SERIES HISTORY
Mercer is a perfect 15-0 all-time against the Catamounts, including 11-0 under Susie Gardner. The Bears are 7-0 against Western Carolina in contests played in Macon. The Bears survived a scare in Cullowhee, N.C. last month as they defeated Western Carolina, 69-67. After establishing a dominant first-half lead, Mercer was outscored 39-22 in the second half as the Catamounts nearly pulled off the upset. Mercer swept Western Carolina last season, including a 75-44 victory in the SoCon Tournament.

SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA
The Catamounts are 4-21 overall and winless in the SoCon (0-10). Jewel Smalls is the team's leading scorer at 10.1 points per game. Western Carolina has been outscored by an average of 14.5 points per game and commits 19.5 turnovers per game as well.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Linnea Rosendal and Rachel Selph scored a combined 44 points in Mercer's come-from-behind win against UNCG on Thursday night, proving that Mercer has legitimate scoring threats across its starting five. Rosendal and Selph entered the game average 9.2 and 7.1 points per game, respectively, but lit up the scoreboard; Rosendal set a career-high with 23 points on seven three-pointers while Selph recorded 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

TIA BREAKS OUT
Freshman point guard Tia Benvenuti had a career night against the Spartans on Thursday, playing 27 minutes while dishing out nine assists to just one turnover. Benvenuti assisted on six of Linnea Rosendal's seven three-pointers, which proved to be critical piece of Mercer's rally to defeat UNCG. Benvenuti has played 10 or more minutes in six SoCon games so far this season, including three straight.

NO CHANGE NEEDED
Mercer has started the same lineup since game one as the quintet is 17-7 on the season. KeKe Calloway (18.0), Amanda Thompson (13.5) and Shannon Titus (11.4) are the three double-digit scorers for the Bears. Linnea Rosendal (9.8) and Rachel Selph (7.7) are averaging career highs as well.

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

Tia Benvenuti

KeKe Calloway

Linnea Rosendal

Rachel Selph

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

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