Venturing to the Volunteer State

Friday, December 3

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

7:00 PM ET

Mercer University

Middle Tennessee

Photo by: James Thomas

12/2/2021 4:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Mercer to face Middle Tennessee, Tennessee State in weekend trip

MACON, Ga. – Following just a quick one-game set in Hawkins Arena, Mercer will head to the Nashville area for a pair of road games against Middle Tennessee on Friday (7 p.m. ET) in Murfreesboro and Tennessee State on Sunday (2 p.m. ET) in Nashville.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Friday, Dec. 2, 2021 | 7 p.m. ET
Teams: Mercer Bears vs. Middle Tennessee
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. • Murphy Center
TV: CUSA.tv
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

Date: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2021 | 2 p.m. ET
Teams: Mercer Bears vs. Tennessee State Tigers
Location: Macon, Ga. • Gentry Center
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

Last Time Out
Mercer took a 66-49 decision over in-state foe, Kennesaw State, in a home matchup. Erin Houpt's 11 points – nine of which came from beyond the arc - led the Bears, and Endia Banks added eight assists in the win. Houpt, Nigeria Harkless and Allie Thayne all achieved career highs in scoring.

Series History vs. Middle Tennessee
Mercer and Middle Tennessee are meeting for the first time. Middle Tennessee is the lone CUSA opponent on the schedule for the Bears.

Series History vs. Tennessee State
The Bears are meeting Tennessee State for the seventh time ever, following an 81-61 win last season at Hawkins Arena. TSU holds the 4-2 series advantage and have taken both in the Music City. In November 2002, these sides met in Memphis, Tenn.

New Season, New Bears
There will be plenty of new faces at Hawkins Arena for the 2021-22 season, as Mercer welcomes eight new student-athletes – Kinley Fisher, Endia Banks, Erin Houpt, Erin Gutierrez, Kassidy Jones, Nigeria Harkless, Ashlee Locke and Lauren McNamara-Clement – to campus.

Block Party
With 42 blocks on the season, Mercer ranks 10^th in the nation and leads the SoCon in the category. Shannon Titus and Sierra Votaw – both super seniors – lead the team with 11 blocks apiece.

Scouting the Lady Raiders
Middle Tennessee enters Friday's tilt with a 5-1 record, which includes wins over Vanderbilt and Illinois through their first six games. Dor Saar and Courtney Whitson are leading the Lady Raiders with 80 and 78 points, respectively.

Scouting the Lady Tigers
Tennessee State will meet Mercer on the heels of a 67-56 setback to Omaha in their last time out, which places them at 3-4 on the season. Tatyana Davis leads the Lady Tigers with 99 points, while Dominique Claytor paces TSU with 52 boards, 31 coming on the defensive end.

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