Mercer Prepped for Weekend in North Carolina

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team heads back on the road to face UNCG and Western Carolina this weekend.

The Bears open the weekend against the Spartans on Thursday before taking on Western Carolina on Saturday. The games are set to tip off at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-16, 1-4 SoCon) at UNCG (15-5, 4-1 SoCon
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Fleming Gymnasium
Live Stats: UNCGSpartans.com
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG

Date: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-17, 1-5 SoCon) at Western Carolina (3-18, 0-6 SoCon)
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. | Ramsey Center
Live Stats: CatamountSports.com
TV: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB
Game Notes: Mercer | Western Carolina

Over/Under 60
The magic number for the Bears in the 2019-20 season has been 60. Mercer has reached the 60-point mark in three of its four wins this season . The Bears are a perfect 4-0 when holding the opposition under 60 points, however they are 0-16 when allowing at least 60 points.

Access Denied
Mercer has been one of the best shot blocking teams in the SoCon throughout the majority of the 2019-20 season. The Bears lead the conference in blocks (87) and blocks per game (4.4), while ranking 42nd nationally in total blocks.

Jaron Dougherty and Shannon Titus are tied for the team lead in blocks with 26 each, the fourth-highest individual total in the SoCon this year. Titus is among the premier shot blockers in program history, currently ranking seventh all-time with 76 blocks. She is currently seven behind Andrea Congreaves (83 blocks) for sixth all-time and 13 shy of tying Jessica Miller to crack the top-five.

Filling The Bucket
Jaron Dougherty has been one of the most consistent scorers for Mercer throughout the season thus far, averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game. The Buford, Ga., native has posted team highs in 20-point games (8) and double-doubles (6), while reaching double figure points in 15-of-20 games this year.

The sophomore forward has been on a tear lately, averaging 19.9 points over the last nine games, reaching double digits in each game and posting 20 points five times. She set a new career high on Saturday with 29 points against Chattanooga. Dougherty earned her second SoCon Player of the Week nod on Tuesday after averaging 26.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. She also earned the honor on Jan. 7.

Last Time Out
Mercer picked up its first win of the Southern Conference season with a 55-48 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

The win snapped a 10-game losing skid for the Bears, including an 0-4 start to SoCon play. Mercer led for the entirety of the game for its second wire-to-wire win of the season.

The tandem of Jaron Dougherty (29 points) and Shannon Titus (18 points) set the tone for the Bears, combining for 47 points on the afternoon. Dougherty tallied 12 rebounds (five offensive) for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season to go along with a game-high four blocks. Titus contributed eight rebounds, three blocks two assists in the game.

Rookie Jill Harris once again showed off her great playmaking abilities by dishing out a game-high eight assists. Sierra Votaw aided in the defensive effort as well, creating two blocks and six rebounds.

As a team, the Bears shot 40.4 percent from the floor (23-of-57) while going the entire game without a 3-pointer for the first time since Feb. 1, 2018 against Furman. Mercer outrebounded the Mocs, 36-34, while holding an 18-11 edge in turnovers. Defensively, the home side limited Chattanooga to shoot 33.9 percent (19-of-56) from the floor, including 23.1 percent in the first half (6-of-26).

Series History (UNCG)
Mercer enters Thursday's matchup with an all-time record of 12-0 against UNCG, including an 11-0 mark since joining the SoCon. The Bears are 6-0 in Greensboro, but UNCG has been tough inside Fleming Gymnasium as three of Mercer's road wins have come by single digits.

Last season, the Black and Orange picked up a 71-58 win at UNCG with KeKe Calloway (24 points) and Amanda Thompson (20 points) leading the charge.

Scouting the Spartans
UNCG has been one of the top teams in the SoCon this season, boasting a record of 15-5 overall and 4-1 in conference. The Spartans opened conference play with four wins before Wofford handed them their first loss with a 66-61 victory. The loss to Wofford snapped a nine-game winning streak for UNCG.

The Spartans have been one of the best defensive teams in the nation this year, raking 13th in scoring defense (54.4 ppg) and 43rd in field goal percent defense (36.2 percent).

Nadine Soliman (16.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Te'ja Twitty (13.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Aja Boyd (10.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg) make up UNCG's big three as they account for 61.0 percent of the scoring and 61.3 percent of the rebounds. Additionally, Alexus Willey is 25th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.0 percent.

Series History (Western Carolina)
The Bears come into Saturday's matchup with Western Carolina with a perfect 17-0 record against the Catamounts. Mercer owns a 7-0 record in Cullowhee, N.C., including five wins since joining the SoCon.

Mercer last faced WCU in the SoCon Quarterfinals last season when the top-seeded Bears defeated the eighth-seeded Catamounts, 55-32. KeKe Calloway led all scorers with 18 points in the game, while Amanda Thompson collected 17 rebounds in 19 minutes. The Bears held WCU to 21.7 percent from the floor, including 2-of-20 shooting from long range.

Scouting the Catamounts
Western Carolina has struggled throughout the 2019-20 season, owning a 3-17 record. The Catamounts have lost nine of their last 10 games, including the last five games since SoCon play started.

The Catamounts' volume of 3-point shots has been among the highest in the country, raking 17th in attempts (496) and 62nd in makes (145). Jewell Smalls (155) and Lauren LaPlant (153) have the 16th and 17th most 3-pointers attempted.

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

KeKe Calloway

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

Sierra Votaw

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