Bears Resume 2024-25 Campaign, Host Samford On Saturday

MACON – The Mercer women's basketball team will resume its 2024-25 campaign on Saturday when they Bears lift the lid on the Southern Conference portion of their regular season schedule against Samford inside Hawkins Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

Fans unable to make the trip to Middle Georgia, can still follow the action for free via a live statistics link provided by the MU athletics department. The game is also scheduled to be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE GAME
Date: Saturday, January 11 Time: 2 p.m. ET Location: Macon, Ga. I Hawkins Arena TV: ESPN+ Live Statistics: MercerStats.com Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

ABOUT THE BEARS
Saturday's action will mark the first competition for the Bears (5-10, 0-0 SoCon) since they snapped a five-game skid with a come-from-behind 62-59 win at in-state nemesis Kennesaw State on December 30. Kayla Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in that one, and a pair of free throws from Talia Harris with 10 seconds left sealed the final outcome. Speaking of Harris, the freshman from Fishers, Ind., has registered double-digit scoring in each of the last two outings for the Orange & Black, including a season-best 20 points in MU's home loss to Appalachian State on December 21. Harris has canned 50 percent (13-of-26) of her field goal attempts over her last two outings, while also adding 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game over that stretch. The Bears have tallied more than half of their victories in the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena this season, and for good reason. Mercer has shot nearly 38 percent from the floor in eight Macon games in 2024-25, led by junior Ariana Bennett who has connected on nearly 49 percent (33-for-68) of her field goal attempts on the way to a team-best 12.6 points per game. Mercer leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 27-10, and will ride a seven-game series win streak into Saturday's contest in Hawkins Arena. Samford will be looking to capture its first win in the series since posting a 74-65 win over the Bears on Feb. 25, 2021, in Macon.

ABOUT SAMFORD
The Bulldogs (5-11, 0-0 SoCon) put the kibosh on a three-game losing streak with a dominant 94-35 win over visiting Berry (NCAA Division III) on January 4 in Birmingham, Ala. The Bulldogs scored 34 points in the opening quarter of that outing, and canned 57.1 percent of their shot attempts in the first two periods on the way to dragging a 56-18 lead into the locker rooms. Junior center Emily Bowman nearly averages a double-double with 11.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game through 16 games this season, while sophomore Kennedy Langham puts up 10.1 points an outing thanks, in large part, to nearly a dozen shot attempts per game. The Bears will need to be aware of the defensive presence of Bowman as well as the Alabama native averages 2.2 blocks per game (18^th NCAA) as well. Samford gets to the free throw line better than any other team in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs average 21.3 free throw attempts per game (24^th NCAA), and scored more than 13 points (13.4) an outing from the charity stripe. SU draws nearly 20 fouls per game by its opponents.

ON DECK
Mercer will take a 2-game swing through the state of Tennessee next week, opening up the trip with a Thursday evening contest at East Tennessee State (9-7, 0-1 SoCon) before hopping over to Chattanooga (6-8, 1-0) for a Saturday tilt against the defending SoCon champ Mocs.

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

Bears Resume 2024-25 Campaign, Host Samford On Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Ariana Bennett

Talia Harris

Kayla Smith

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