Bears Hold Off Western Carolina For Pivotal SoCon Win

Thursday, February 27

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

8-20,3-10SoCon

Western Carolina

12-16,2-11SoCon

Western Caro.

Mercer

Bears Hold Off Western Carolina For Pivotal SoCon Win

2/27/2025 10:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer scored four-straight points to take a five-point lead with just more than two minutes left to play, and then used a pair of late defensive stands to hold off visiting Western Carolina, 51-49, on Thursday evening in Hawkins Arena.

The victory snapped a five-game skid for the Bears (8-20, 3-10 SoCon), while also helping the Orange & Black lock up the No. 7 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament in Asheville, N.C. It was the 10^th loss in the last 11 outings for the Catamounts (12-16, 2-11) who fell to 1-30 all-time in the 30-year-old series with Mercer.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 51, Western Carolina 49
RECORDS: Mercer 8-20 (3-10 SoCon); Western Carolina 12-16 (2-11 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Western Carolina connected on better than 46 percent of their field goals in the opening period, but was unable to shake Mercer. The Catamounts scored the first six points of the evening to grab the early momentum, but a driving layup from Talia Harris at the 4:10 mark gave the game its second tie score. However, WCU scored the game's next six points to fuel a 14-10 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

2ND QUARTER

Neither team was able to claim their shooting touch in the second quarter, but Mercer broke a 17-17 tie midway through with four-straight points to eventually build a 21-17 lead after Ashlee Locke's turnaround jumper at the 3:35 mark. Western Carolina tacked up the first half's final four points, however, including a pair of free throws from Tyja Beans with 29 seconds left, to level the game at 21 points heading into intermission.

3RD QUARTER

The Bears came out of the halftime gates on a mission, registering a 6-for-9 shooting clip, including a pair of 3-pointers, to key a 21-point third quarter. Two free throws from Ariana Bennett with 4:37 left to play marked the first of eight-straight points that helped MU build a 40-30 advantage 90 seconds later, but the Catamounts whittled their deficit down to just four points, 42-38, heading to the fourth period.

4TH QUARTER

Western Carolina opened the final quarter with four-straight points to give the game its sixth tie score just 1-1/2 minutes in, but Mercer took the lead for good on the ensuing possession with a short jumper from Nahawa Diarra. The Bears scored four-straight points to grab a 50-45 lead with 2:09 remaining in regulation, but WCU missed a pair of shots on their next possession, both from downtown, before eventually succumbing.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ashlee Locke poured in a game-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while also adding eight rebounds, three assists and a trio of blocks.
+ Freshman Talia Harris added 10 points, including a perfect 2-for-2 night from the perimeter, and complemented her scoring number with seven boards, two steals and an assist.
+ Junior Ariana Bennett finished her night with eight points, including a 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line. She turned in three boards and a steal as well.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer improved to 30-1 all-time in the 30-year-old series with Western Carolina, and swept the season series with the Catamounts for the sixth-straight year. The Bears are now 13-0 all-time against Western Carolina in Hawkins Arena.
+ The Bears committed just nine turnovers on Thursday against WCU – just the second time this season that MU has registered a single-digit turnover total. The Orange & Black committed a season-low seven turnovers in a home loss to Wofford in late January.
+ MU registered three blocks, all by Ashlee Locke, on Thursday which gave the Bears three or more blocks for the seventh time in the last eight games.

UP NEXT

Mercer will close out the regular season portion of its 2024-25 schedule on Saturday when the Bears bunker down to battle Southern Conference regular season champion UNC Greensboro (21-6, 12-1 SoCon) in Hawkins Arena. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow Mercer Women's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Women's Basketball on Facebook.

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.