Bears Fall To UNC Greensboro In Regular Season Finale

Saturday, March 1

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

8-21,3-11SoCon

UNC Greensboro

22-6,13-1SoCon

UNC Greensboro

Mercer

Bears Fall To UNC Greensboro In Regular Season Finale

3/1/2025 10:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Southern Conference regular season champion UNC Greensboro scored 20 points off of 17 Mercer turnovers and used a big second quarter to pull away for good on the way to a 76-37 victory over the Bears on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.

The setback officially snapped the lid on the regular season campaign for Mercer (8-21, 3-11 SoCon) who honored its two-member senior class – guard Nahawa Diarra and forward Ashlee Locke – prior to tipoff. It was the 11^th-straight win for the Spartans (22-6, 13-1) who picked up their first win in Hawkins Arena since the 2022-23 campaign.

THE BASICS

SCORE: UNC Greensboro 76, Mercer 37
RECORDS: Mercer 8-21 (3-11 SoCon); UNC Greensboro 22-6 (13-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Mercer shot better than 45 percent in the opening period, but the Spartans took advantage of five turnovers in the stanza to key a 16-10 lead after 10 minutes of play. A one-possession game through three minutes of action, Jaila Lee's free throw at the 6:59 mark sparked the visitors on an 8-0 run over the next 2-1/2 minutes that provided all of the cushion that UNCG would need.

2ND QUARTER

The Bears converted on just one bucket in the second period, and that was enough to open the flood gates for the Spartans. UNC Greensboro converted on nearly 56 percent of their field goal attempts and outscored the Orange & Black, 24-3, in the second quarter to fuel a 40-13 lead for the visitors at the intermission.

3RD QUARTER

UNC Greensboro tacked up six of the first eight points of the second half to push their lead across the 30-point mark just more than three minutes into the third quarter. The Bears trimmed their deficit back to 28 points, 48-20, on Nahawa Diarra's 3-pointer three minutes later, but UNCG closed the stanza with a mild run to lug a 57-22 lead into the final period.

4TH QUARTER

Mercer found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter, but so did the Spartans as both teams converted on at least 45.5 percent of their field goal attempts. The Spartans led by as many as 41 points, 68-27, after a 4-point play from Jaila Lee with 6:59 to play, but Mercer whittled its deficit back to 68-33 just less than three minutes later before the visitors caught fire again.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ashlee Locke tallied 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting, and nearly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. She also tallied two blocks and an assist as well.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra added seven points and six boards, while also chipping in an assist.
+ Junior Ariana Bennett registered six points and a trio of boards, while also tacking up a block as well.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer will be the No. 7 seed in Thursday's quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. The Bears will take on second-seeded Chattanooga in their tournament opener.
+ The Bears finished Saturday's outing with four blocks, and have now registered at least three swats in eight of their last nine outings.
+ MU fell to 18-8 all-time in the 45-year-old series with UNC Greensboro. The Spartans became the first team to win on the road in the series since Mercer's 65-46 triumph in Greensboro on Jan. 5, 2023.

UP NEXT

The seventh-seeded Bears will lace up to take on second-seeded Chattanooga (14-13) in the quarterfinals round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Thursday in Asheville, N.C. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

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BACK THE BEARS

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