Mercer Tops UNC Asheville In Season Opener

Monday, November 3

Asheville, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Mercer University

1-0,0-0SoCon

UNC Asheville

0-1,0-0Big South

Mercer

UNC Asheville

11/3/2025 9:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Visiting Mercer forced 28 turnovers and held UNC Asheville to a nearly nine-minute scoring drought across the second and third quarters on the way to a 48-39 victory over the Bulldogs on Monday evening inside Kimmel Arena.

The Bears (1-0) captured their season opener for the third time in the last four years with the result, while also tacking up their fourth-straight win in the 41-year-old series with UNC Asheville. It was the third-straight season-opening loss for the Bulldogs.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 48, UNC Asheville 39
RECORDS: Mercer 1-0 (0-0 SoCon); UNC Asheville 0-1 (0-0 Big South)
LOCATION: Asheville, N.C. (Kimmel Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Nahawa Diarra's short jumper just more than three minutes into the game sparked the Bears on a 12-2 run that eventually gave them a 16-6 advantage five minutes later. Ariana Bennett's jumper with four ticks left allowed the visitors to take a 19-9 edge after 10 minutes of play.

2ND QUARTER

The Bears offset an 0-for-14 clip from the field in the second quarter by forcing eight turnovers and connecting six of their eight attempts from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs opened the second quarter with a 10-1 run to eventually knot the score up at 20 points apiece with three minutes left before the break, but the Bears tacked up five of the half's final six points to lug a 25-21 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Mercer held the hosts to just a 1-for-10 shooting effort in the third period and took advantage of a nearly nine-minute scoring drought to fuel the final outcome. The visitors led by as many as 18 points, 39-21, following a layup from Talia Harris with just less than three minutes left in the stanza before UNC Asheville connected on their first field goal of the second half at the 1:20 mark.

4TH QUARTER

UNC Asheville shot better than 46 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, but Mercer took advantage of miscues by the hosts down the stretch to fend off any comeback efforts. The Bulldogs scored nine-straight points to trim their deficit down to single digits, 43-34, at the 3:50 mark, but Mercer forced a pair of key turnovers in the final minutes before closing it out.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ariana Bennett went 6-for-8 from the free throw line on the way to a team-best 10 points. She also added five rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
+ Talia Harris came in off of the bench to register eight points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in 21 minutes of action.
+ Newcomer Micah O'Dell chipped in eight points, while also tallying five boards and two steals.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer improved to 2-0 in season openers under the direction of head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, and have now won their season lid-lifter in three of the last four seasons.
+ The Bears forced 28 turnovers on Monday – the most by an MU opponent since Troy committed 28 in a 78-73 loss to Mercer on Dec. 10, 2022.
+ MU improved to 7-4 all-time in the 51-year-old series with UNC Asheville, and have now captured four-straight matchups with the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville's last win over the Orange & Black was a 76-75 home triumph on Dec, 21, 2011.

UP NEXT

The Bears will open up the home portion of their 2025-26 regular season schedule on Thursday when they suit up to battle Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson (1-0) in Hawkins Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

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BACK THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email maf@mercer.edu.