Ariana Bennett Joins 2024-25 Women’s Basketball Roster
4/30/2024 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MACON – Mercer women's basketball head coach Michelle Clark-Heard added another inside threat to her 2024-25 roster on Tuesday when junior college transfer Ariana Bennett inked her name to a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and athletic career with the Bears.
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Bennett, a 6-1 forward, treks to Macon from Belleville, Ill., where she spent the 2023-24 season at Southwestern Illinois College for head coach John Denney. Bennett earned all-region laurels as a sophomore after leading the Blue Storm to 18 wins and a berth in the NJCAA Region 24 Tournament.
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"We are super excited about Ariana joining the Bears family," Clark-Heard said. "She is a long athletic forward that can score with the basketball in multiple ways. Her ability to consistently make open shots and rebound the ball will be huge for us, and her length and athleticism is perfect for our up-tempo style of play. I am thrilled to add her to our depth in the front court as she can guard several positions and gives us the opportunity to change up defensive looks."
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Bennett started in 31 games for Southwestern Illinois last season and averaged a team-best 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game across a team-best 29.5 minutes an outing on the floor. She connected on 43.9 percent of her field goal attempts, while also logging double-digit point totals in in 28 outings, including a pair of 20+-point performances. Bennett tallied 11 double-double outings, and pulled down a season-high 13 boards in a 65-64 triumph over Lincoln Land in mid-November. She also turned in multiple blocks on a dozen occasions, while logging two or more steals 12 times.
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A native of Glen Carbon, Ill., Bennett played her freshman season at Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Mo. As a first-year player, she saw action in 25 games (9 starts) and tallied 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds an outing. She also added 12 blocks, 11 steals and a trio of assists to her stat line.
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Bennett, a 6-1 forward, treks to Macon from Belleville, Ill., where she spent the 2023-24 season at Southwestern Illinois College for head coach John Denney. Bennett earned all-region laurels as a sophomore after leading the Blue Storm to 18 wins and a berth in the NJCAA Region 24 Tournament.
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"We are super excited about Ariana joining the Bears family," Clark-Heard said. "She is a long athletic forward that can score with the basketball in multiple ways. Her ability to consistently make open shots and rebound the ball will be huge for us, and her length and athleticism is perfect for our up-tempo style of play. I am thrilled to add her to our depth in the front court as she can guard several positions and gives us the opportunity to change up defensive looks."
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Bennett started in 31 games for Southwestern Illinois last season and averaged a team-best 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game across a team-best 29.5 minutes an outing on the floor. She connected on 43.9 percent of her field goal attempts, while also logging double-digit point totals in in 28 outings, including a pair of 20+-point performances. Bennett tallied 11 double-double outings, and pulled down a season-high 13 boards in a 65-64 triumph over Lincoln Land in mid-November. She also turned in multiple blocks on a dozen occasions, while logging two or more steals 12 times.
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A native of Glen Carbon, Ill., Bennett played her freshman season at Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Mo. As a first-year player, she saw action in 25 games (9 starts) and tallied 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds an outing. She also added 12 blocks, 11 steals and a trio of assists to her stat line.
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