Mercer University
East Tennessee State
Mercer Welcomes ETSU To Hawkins Arena Thursday
2/7/2024 5:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
GAME INFO
ETSU (15-7, 4-3 SoCon) at Mercer (9-14, 3-4 SoCon)
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET
Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
TV:Â ESPN+
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's game between Mercer and ETSU is the 45th all-time meeting between the two programs. Mercer leads the series 23-21. ETSU won the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season, 77-71.
SCOUTING ETSU
ETSU is coming off a 25-10 season in 2022-23. The Bucs went 9-5 in Southern Conference play and earned the No. 3 seed in the SoCon Tournament.
ETSU is led by second year head coach Brenda Mock Brown. The Bucs were picked as the preseason favorites to win the SoCon by the coaches and picked second by the media.
ETSU enters Thursday's game in third place in the SoCon with a 4-3 record against conference opponents. The Bucs are coming off a 77-65 home loss to Wofford last Saturday.
ETSU has been much better defensively than offensively this season. The Bucs are allowing the fewest points per game in the SoCon as they allow just 52.5 points per game. However, ETSU is just sixth in scoring offense in the conference as they average just 59.8 points per game. However, in conference games, the Bucs are tied for second with Mercer for the best field goal percentage at 41.6 percent.
ETSU has been a solid rebounding team this season as they rank fourth in the SoCon with a +2.5 rebounding margin. ETSU's leading scorer is junior guard Naveah Brown. Brown was named Preseason All-Conference and is proving that billing on the court this season by averaging 13.6 points per game. She also leads the team in three-point percentage at 38.7 percent for the year.
Senior center Jakhyia Davis is the team's leading rebounder at 6.5 rebounds per game. She also chips in offensively with 6.4 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Summah Evans scored a career high 35 points and Mercer exploded for a season high 87 points on a strong shooting night up and down the Mercer lineup as the Bears defeated Samford, 87-59 in the Pete Hanna Center Saturday afternoon.
Mercer had its most efficient game shooting the ball this season as the Bears made 34-of-61 (55.7%) shots and seemingly couldn't miss from three-point range going 13-for-17 (76.5%) from behind the arc on the afternoon. Mercer's previous high for made three's in a game this season was nine against Tulane back on November 19.
NEED TO KNOW
Summah Evans'Â 35 points against Samford not only was a career high for her, but was also the most points scored by any Southern Conference player in a game this season. Evans was named the SoCon Player of the Week and to the NCAA Starting Five along with other top players in the country such as Iowa's Caitlin Clark and USC's Juju Watkins for her performance.
FOLLOW THE BEARSÂ
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (Twitter),  /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @Mercer_wbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
