Bears Return Home for First Time in 2020

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball returns home for the first time in 2020 as the Bears welcome ETSU and Chattanooga to Hawkins Arena this weekend.

The Bears open against the Bucs on Thursday at 7 p.m. before taking on the Mocs on Saturday at 2 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-15, 0-3 SoCon) vs. ETSU (6-13, 1-3 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN3
TV Talent: Craig Lawson and Sybil Blalock
Radio: 100.9 "The Creek", Sports Mic
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | ETSU
Promotion: N/A

Date: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-16, 0-4 SoCon) vs. Chattanooga (4-15, 3-2 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: mercerbears.com/livestats
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Craig Lawson and Sybil Blalock
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Chattanooga
Promotion: Alumni Day | Girl Scout Day | Hoops & Heroes

Starter Strong
Mercer has used nine different starting lineups throughout the 2019-20 season trying to find the right combination after losing four players who started every game last season. The first five on the floor for the Bears have been productive scoring the ball, accounting for 81.1 percent of the team's points through the first 18 games.

Of the team's 49 double-digit point performances, 43 have come from a player in the starting lineup. Additionally, all 11 20-point games have come from a starter.

Bark(hoff)-ing Up The Wrong Tree
After missing roughly the first half of the season, redshirt sophomore Kiana Barkhoff has been one of the top defenders for the Bears. Barkhoff has recorded multiple blocks in three of the five games she has suited up for this season and has blocked a total of eight shots. She is averaging a team-high 1.6 blocks per game and already has the fourth-most denials on the squad.

Filling The Bucket
Jaron Dougherty has been one of the most consistent scorers for Mercer throughout the season thus far, averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game. The Buford, Ga., native has posted team highs in 20-point games (6) and double-doubles (5), while reaching double figure points in 13-of-18 games this year.

The sophomore forward has been on a tear lately, averaging 17.7 points over the last 10 games with nine double-digit performances and five games when she scored more than 20. She tied her career high with a 26-point showing at Yale on Jan. 2 and earned her first recognition from the conference, being named the SoCon Player of the Week on Jan. 7.

Last Time Out
Mercer was unable to earn its first win of the Southern Conference season in a 72-64 setback at Samford on Saturday evening at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Bears had one of their best shooting performances of the season, posting their third-highest percentage from the floor at 45.2 percent (28-of-62) and second-best percentage from beyond-the-arc at 46.2 percent (6-of-13). Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty led the way with 19 points apiece, while Amoria Neal-Tysor (12 points) and Summer Pahl (10 points) joined the duo in double digits on the scoresheet.

The area of the game where Samford was able to separate itself was in the paint, outscoring Mercer 38-14. Natalie Armstrong was the difference maker in the game for the Bulldogs as she scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the floor. Her only miss came from long range.

Series History (ETSU)
Mercer enters today's matchup with an all-time record of 21-18 against ETSU. The Bucs are one of Mercer's most familiar SoCon foes having also played against them in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 2005-06 to 2014-15 when both teams moved to the SoCon.

Mercer holds an 8-4 advantage over ETSU since joining the Southern Conference and is currently on an eight-game winning streak.

The Bears earned a 64-41 victory over the Bucs last time ETSU came to Hawkins Arena on Jan. 24 of last season. In that game, Shannon Titus scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. She added 12 rebounds for her first career double-double, while Amanda Thompson (14 points/12 rebounds) also recorded a double-double.

Scouting the Bucs
ETSU has struggled since the start of the New Year, having dropped four of its last five games. The Bucs lone win over that stretch came against Western Carolina when they came away with a 62-57 road victory on Jan. 11.

Micah Scheetz is the only ETSU player averaging double-digit points at 15.3 points per game, while Tijuana Kimbro's 6.6 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game are both team highs. Kaia Upton leads the squad with 72 assists and 37 steals.

The Bucs have struggled in the first and third quarters this season, allowing an average of 18.0 and 17.9 points, respectively. They have also given up 20 or more points seven times in the first quarter and nine times in the third.

ETSU was selected to finish fourth in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll by both the coaches and media.

Series History (Chattanooga)
While Mercer is 6-16 all-time against Chattanooga, the Bears are riding a four-game winning streak against the Mocs into Saturday's matchup. The Bears are 4-6 at home against Chattanooga, including 3-of-the-last-4 meetings.

Last season, Mercer came away with a 65-58 vicotry over the Mocs at Hawkins Arena on Jan. 24. Shannon Titus scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Amanda Thompson recorded 11 points and 16 rebounds in the contest for one of her 16 double-doubles on the season.

Scouting the Mocs
Despite getting off to a slow start in non-conference play, Chattanooga has flipped the switch to begin the SoCon schedule. The Mocs are 3-1 currently and sit in a tie for second place with Furman.

Chattanooga has defeated Western Carolina (59-52), Wofford (80-76) and Furman (60-52) in conference play while falling to UNCG (49-41).

Lakelyn Bouldin (12.2 ppg) leads the Mocs in scoring and is lethal from long range, shooting at a clip of 35.8 percent (29-of-81). She rarely comes out of the game, averaging a SoCon-high 36.3 minutes per game.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB(Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

Kiana Barkhoff

Jaron Dougherty

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Summer Pahl

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

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