Bears Rally, But Fall Short To Wofford In Final Seconds

Saturday, January 24

Macon, Ga.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

12-8,2-3SoCon

Wofford

11-9,5-1SoCon

Wofford

Mercer

Bears Rally, But Fall Short To Wofford In Final Seconds

1/24/2026 2:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer rallied all the way back from a 13-point deficit in the first quarter to take the lead with 2-1/2 minutes left to play, but visiting Wofford used a trio of free throws, as well as a couple of late defensive stands, to stymie the Bears, 67-64, on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.

It was the second-straight loss for Mercer (12-8, 2-3 SoCon) who finished the outing with a 16-for-17 tally from the free throw line and registered a 40-37 advantage in the rebound column. Wofford (11-9, 5-1) pushed its win streak out to five games with the result, and has now taken six of the last seven series meetings with the Orange & Black.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Wofford 67, Mercer 64
RECORDS: Mercer 12-8 (2-3 SoCon); Wofford 11-9 (5-1 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

The visitors shot nearly 43 percent from the field and shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe on the way to forging a 22-14 advantage through 10 minutes of play. The Bears got on the board first via Micah O'Dell's lay-in just 11 seconds in, but the Terriers responded with a 15-0 run over the next 4-1/2 minutes to eventually grab a 15-2 lead after Gabby Munday's trey at the 5:05 mark.

2ND QUARTER

The Bears scored seven of the first nine points in the second quarter and pulled to within three points, 24-21, on Ariana Bennett's running layup with 5-1/2 minutes left before the break. Wofford held the hosts at arm's length the rest of the way out, however, before lugging a 32-25 lead into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Both teams came out of the halftime gates with a hot hand, but Wofford was able to hold off a hot charge by the Bears midway through. Talia Kemp drained a 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark to make it a one-point game, 39-38, but the Terriers fueled a 16-6 run with five-straight field goals, including a trio of 3-pointers, to pad their lead back to double digits, 55-44, with less than a minute left in the stanza.

4TH QUARTER

Ariana Bennett's fast break layup just more than a minute into the final stanza sparked the hosts on a game-changing 12-1 run that eventually gave Mercer a 60-58 lead with four minutes to play, but the Bears missed their final six shots, including a long-range jumper at the buzzer. Gabby Mundy hit the front end of a two-shot foul to give Wofford the lead for good.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Nahawa Diarra scored a team-high 16 points, while also matching a team-high with seven rebounds as well.
+ Sophomore Talia Kemp chipped in a dozen points on 4-for-8 shooting, while also adding four rebounds and a trio of assists.
+ Junior Micah O'Dell finished her afternoon with 11 points and seven rebounds, while also adding an assist and a block.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears shot a season-best 94.1 percent (16-for-17) from the free throw line on Saturday. It is the fourth time this season that MU has closed out a game with just one miss from the charity stripe.
+ Mercer turned in a pair of blocks against Wofford, and has now registered multiple swats in 12-straight outings. The Bears have produced multiple blocks in 18 of their 20 contests this season.
+ Wofford has now captured six of the last seven meetings with the Bears dating back to the 2022-23 season. The Terriers have won the last two games in Hawkins Arena.

UP NEXT

The Bears will open up a two-game trip on Friday when they trek to southeast Tennessee to lock horns with Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga (???) in McKenzie Arena. Start time has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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BACK THE BEARS

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