Bears Close Out Regular Season at Home

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team will close out its 2019-20 regular season slate with a pair of home games against Western Carolina and UNCG this weekend at Hawkins Arena.

The Bears open the weekend against the Western Carolina on Thursday before taking on UNCG on Saturday. The games are set to tip off at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (6-21, 3-9 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (5-22, 2-10 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
TV: ESPN+
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 | Western Carolina

Date: Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (7-21, 4-9 SoCon) vs. UNCG (20-8, 9-4 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
TV: ESPN+
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 | UNCG

Lending A Helping Hand
Rookie Jill Harris has been one of the most selfless players for the Bears in the 2019-20 season with a team-high 106 assists on the year. The Navarre, Fla., native has more assists than any other freshman in the Southern Conference. Her 10-assist performance against ETSU on Saturday pushed her over the century mark on the season. Harris became the first Mercer freshman to record 100 assists in a season since 2010-11 when Sharnea Boykin accomplished that feat.

Harris' 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the second best in the conference overall and ranks third in the country among freshmen.

Climbing The Leaderboard
Junior Shannon Titus has been climbing the program's all-time blocks list since the start of the season. The Johns Creek, Ga., native now has 100 blocked shots in her career which puts her in fifth place. Titus has also cracked the top-5 in single season blocks with 50 and is closing in on single season steals with 70.

Career Blocked Shots

Rk.	Name (Years)	Blocks
1.	Teanna Robinson (2011-15)	258
2.	Tanya Kessenich (2002-06)	184
3.	Rachel Selph (2015-19)	123
4.	Alex Phillips (2009-13)	101
5.	Shannon Titus (2017-Pres.)	100

Single-Season Blocked Shots

Rk.	Name (Season)	Blocks
1.	Teanna Robinson (2013-14)	114
2.	Teanna Robinson (2014-15	86
3.	Tanya Kessenich (2004-05)	66
4.	Teanna Robinson (2012-13)	55
5.	Shannon Titus (2019-20)	50

Single-Season Steals

Rk.	Name (Season)	Blocks
4.	Sydni Means (2015-16)	80
	Sydni Means (2016-17)	80
6.	Sydni Means (2017-18)	79
7.	Rhonda Owens (2006-07)	78
8.	Tracy Henry (1999-00)	74
9.	Amanda Thompson (2018-19)	71
	Sally Skeldon (2005-06)	71
	Tracy Henry (2000-01)	71
--	Shannon Titus (2019-20)	70

Last Time Out
Mercer was unable to hang onto its lead as the Bears fell to ETSU 56-54 on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Jaron Dougherty picked up her eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds while adding three blocks. Shannon Titus contributed 16 points in the game with eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Rookie Jill Harris matched her season high with 10 assists on the afternoon while collecting two steals and a block.

Series History (Western Carolina)
The Bears come into Thursday's matchup with Western Carolina with a 17-1 record against the Catamounts. Mercer owns a perfect 8-0 record in Macon, including five wins since joining the SoCon.
Mercer last faced WCU on Feb. 1 in Cullowhee, N.C., dropping a 51-40 contest. Shannon Titus led the Bears with nine points, 13 rebounds and five steals in the loss.

Scouting the Catamounts
Since its last meeting with Mercer, Western Carolina has gone 1-4 with the lone win coming against Chattanooga (61-53) on Feb. 8. The Catamounts are currently riding a three-game losing skid against UNCG (72-61), Furman (69-59) and Wofford (65-58).

Jewel Smalls has been productive for WCU this season, ranking second in the conference with 10 double-doubles. She is averaging a team-high 12.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Series History (UNCG)
Mercer enters Saturday's matchup with an all-time record of 12-1 against UNCG, including an 11-1 mark since joining the SoCon. The Bears are 5-0 in Macon against the Spartans.

In the first meeting this season, UNCG earned its first win against Mercer with a 67-51 decision in Greensboro. Amoria Neal-Tysor scored a game-high 18 points in the game, while Shannon Titus added 15 points and five steals.

Scouting the Spartans
After losing back-to-back games against Samford (56-42) and Chattanooga (74-59), UNCG has rattled off four straight wins against ETSU (65-45), Western Carolina (72-61), Wofford (49-45) and Furman (61-53).

Individually, Nadine Soliman leads the SoCon in scoring as she averages 16.9 points per game to rank 82nd nationally.

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

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Rachel Selph

Amanda Thompson

Shannon Titus

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