Mercer Holds Off Samford For Sixth-Straight Home Win

Saturday, January 17

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

12-6,2-1SoCon

Samford

8-12,1-2SoCon

Samford

Mercer

Mercer Holds Off Samford For Sixth-Straight Home Win

1/17/2026 4:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Home-standing Mercer scored 31 points off of 23 Samford turnovers and used a bend-but-not-break defensive effort to hold off a last-gasp rally on the way to a 76-67 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.

It was the sixth-straight home win for the Bears (12-6, 2-1 SoCon) who have not tasted defeat in their home arena since a setback to Atlantic Coast Conference Clemson in early November. It was the eighth loss in the last 10 road outings for the Bulldogs (8-12, 1-2) who have now come away empty on five-straight trips to Macon.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 76. Samford 67
RECORDS: Mercer 12-6 (2-1 SoCon); Samford 8-12 (1-2 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The Bears connected on nearly half (4-for-9) of their perimeter attempts in the opening period and scored 12-straight points midway through to inevitably forge a 20-13 advantage through 10 minutes of action. Sierra Godbolt pulled the Bulldogs to within a point, 8-7, but Micah O'Dell's triple on the other end of the court signaled the momentum-changing run that gave the Bears a 20-7 lead three minutes later.

2ND QUARTER

Mercer shot just 33.3 percent in the second quarter, but forced six Samford turnovers to keep the visitors at bay. The Bulldogs made it a 29-22 affair on Sierra Godbolt's 3-pointer at the 2:47 mark, but the Bears responded with four-straight points to push their advantage back out to double digits and take a 35-24 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

The Bears connected on 40 percent of their field goal attempts in the third period, while also turning in a 10-for-15 clip from the free throw line, to pad their lead. Talia Kemp's free throw following a fast-break opportunity marked the first of nine-straight points by the hosts who eventually pushed their lead out to as many as 18 points, 55-37, following a pair of free throws from Ariana Bennett nearly four minutes later.

4TH QUARTER

The Bulldogs would not go away quietly, connecting on nearly 67 percent of their field goal attempts in the fourth stanza, including a 4-for-7 clip from downtown, to spice the game up a bit. The Bulldogs pulled to within five points, 66-61, on Briana River's trey with just more than two minutes left, but the Bears registered a perfect 8-for-8 clip from the charity stripe down the stretch to ice the outcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Abigail Holtman scored a game-high 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including a quartet of 3-pointers, while also turning in three rebounds, two steals and a block.
+ Senior Ariana Bennett nearly registered her second double-double of the season with 15 points and nine boards, while also tallying a pair of steals. She scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half.
+ Junior Micah O'Dell came off of the bench to chip in 11 points, two rebounds and a pair of steals in 23 minutes of action, while sophomore Talia Kemp produced half (7) of MU's 14 assists, while also turning in three steals.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears registered 14 assists against the Bulldogs on Saturday and have now recorded double-digit assists in 11 outings this season.
+ Mercer's 27-for-33 clip from the free throw line marked the fourth time in 2025-26 that the Bears have finished an outing with at least 20 made free throws. It is the fifth time this season that MU has connected on at least 80 percent of its free throw attempts.
+ Mercer's current six-game home win streak is the longest win streak for the program in Hawkins Arena since the 2018-19 club won their final seven home games of the season.

UP NEXT

The Bears will continue their three-game Southern Conference home stand on Thursday when they take on Furman (9-8, 1-1 SoCon) 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

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