Mercer Welcomes Wofford, Furman to Hawkins Arena

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Women's Basketball team kicks off the second half of its Southern Conference slate with a pair of home games against Wofford and Furman this weekend.

The Bears open things up with a matchup against Wofford on Thursday at 7 p.m. before taking on Furman on Saturday at 2 p.m.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-18, 1-6 SoCon) vs. Wofford (12-10, 5-2 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 | Wofford

Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 | 2 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (5-18, 2-6 SoCon) vs. Furman (15-8, 5-3 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 | Furman

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 83.1 percent of the team's points through the first 22 games.

Of the team's 56 double-digit point performances, 50 have come from a player in the starting lineup. Additionally, all 14 20-point games have come from a starter.

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 77 assists on the year. The Navarre, Fla., native has more assists than any other freshman in the Southern Conference.

Harris' 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio is the second best in the conference overall and ranks fourth in the country among freshmen.

Filling the Bucket
Jaron Dougherty has been one of the most consistent scorers for Mercer throughout the season thus far, averaging a team-high 15.6 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-22 games this year.

The sophomore forward has been on a tear lately, averaging 17.5 points over the last 14 games, reaching double digits in 11 games and posting 20 points seven times. She set a new career high on Jan. 25 with 29 points against Chattanooga. Dougherty earned her second SoCon Player of the Week nod on Jan. 28 after averaging 26.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. She also earned the honor on Jan. 7.

Last Time Out
Mercer fell to the Western Carolina Catamounts, 51-40, on Saturday afternoon.

Shannon Titus posted team highs with nine points, 13 rebounds and five steals in the game, while Jaron Dougherty added eight points and seven rebounds. Sierra Votaw contributed four points and five rebounds as well. Tia Benvenuti also came off the bench to score six points.

The Bears struggled to shoot the ball, finishing with a 29.5 percent (18-of-61) field goal percentage while going 0-11 from downtown. After making a 3-pointer in 62 consecutive games, Mercer has been held without a make from beyond-the-arc in two-of-the-last-three games.

Series History (Wofford)
Mercer has seen a great deal of success against the Terriers throughout the series history dating back to 1997, owning a 14-2 record versus Wofford.

The Bears have won 13 of the last 14 outings with Wofford winning the first matchup this season. Mercer and Wofford squared off on Jan. 11 with the Terriers pulling off a 77-49 win. Tia Benvenuti (15 pts., 6 reb.), Jaron Dougherty (14 pts., 7 reb.) and Shannon Titus (11 pts., 6 reb.) led the Bears in the contest with Kiana Barkhoff contributing a season-high three blocks.

Scouting the Terriers
Wofford is among the best teams in the SoCon this season, owning a 5-2 record through the first half of the conference season.

Chloe Wanink is one of the most lethal 3-point shooters in the country. Wanink ranks fifth in the country in 3-point percentage (46.5 percent), seventh in 3-pointers made (66) and 13th in 3-pointers per game (3.0), leading the SoCon in each category. She is also the leading scorer in the SoCon averaging 16.7 points per game.

Da'Ja Green is in one of the nation's top distributors, ranking in the top-30 in assist/turnover ratio (2.45, 21st), assists (115, 22nd) and assists per game (5.2, 28th). She leads the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio while ranking second in the conference in assists and assists per game.

The Terriers enter Thursday's matchup riding a four-game winning streak after defeating ETSU (76-47), Western Carolina (76-63), UNCG (66-61) and Furman (66-62).

Series History (Furman)
Mercer has enjoyed some recent success against Furman, having won 11 of the last 12 meetings. The Bears own a 16-5 edge in the all-time series with the Paladins.

The two teams opened the 2020 SoCon slate on Jan. 9 with a rematch of last season's conference title game with the Paladins taking a 62-49 decision. Amoria Neal-Tysor scored a game-high 20 points with Shannon Titus and Jaron Dougherty adding 12 points each.

Le'Jzae Davidson led Furman with 15 points in the matchup while also contributing seven rebounds. Celena Taborn added 14 points, three rebounds and three blocks, while Tierra Hodges posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Scouting the Paladins
After jumping out to a 3-0 start to SoCon play, the Paladins have struggled over the last two-and-a-half-weeks. Furman has dropped three-of-its-last-four conference games with its lone win over that stretch coming against Western Carolina (69-53). Their losses came against Chattanooga (60-52), UNCG (59-53) and Wofford (66-62).

Le'Jzae Davidson is among the nation's most active 3-point shooters, ranking third in the counrty in attempts with 199. She is second in the SoCon and 10th nationally in makes from beyond-the-arc with 65 and is 17th in Division I in treys per game at 2.95.

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.

Mercer Welcomes Wofford, Furman to Hawkins Arena

Players Mentioned

Kiana Barkhoff

Tia Benvenuti

Jaron Dougherty

Jill Harris

Amoria Neal-Tysor

Shannon Titus

Sierra Votaw

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