Mercer Opens SoCon Play At Western Carolina On Thursday

Thursday, January 8

Cullowhee, N.C.

6 p.m.

Mercer University

Western Carolina

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Mercer Opens SoCon Play At Western Carolina On Thursday

1/7/2026 6:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – The Mercer women's basketball team will open up a two-game Southern Conference road trip on Thursday when the Bears pack up their show and head to Cullowhee, N.C., to lock horns with Western Carolina in the league lid-lifter for both sides. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Ingles Court.

Fans unable to make the trip to North Carolina can still follow the action for free via a live statistics link provided by the WCU athletics department. The game is also scheduled to be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE GAME
Date: Thursday, January 8 Time: 6 p.m. ET Location: Cullowhee, N.C. I Ingles Court TV: ESPN+ Live Statistics: MercerBears.com/Live Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

TICKETS
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting the Western Carolina athletics ticketing portal.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer scored 23 points off of as many Auburn Montgomery turnovers and bridged the second and third quarters with an 18-8 run on the way to a 66-55 victory over the visiting Warhawks on Friday evening in Hawkins Arena. Senior Ariana Bennett notched her second collegiate double-double (first of season) with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a team-high 36 minutes of action, while junior Abigail Holtman scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, while also turning in five rebounds and four assists.

ABOUT THE BEARS
Sporting their most non-conference victories since the 2017-18 season, the Bears (10-5, 0-0 SoCon) will ride a 5-game win streak into Thursday night's tilt with the Catamounts. Mercer still boasts the Southern Conference's best 3-point shooting percentage (.333), but ranks among the league's top 3 in a slew of other statistical categories as well. Senior Nahawa Diarra sports a team-best 12.0 points per game to go along with 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals an outing. Junior Abigail Holtman will showcase the hot hand heading into conference play as the newcomer has averaged 16.0 points (26-for-60) on 43.3 percent field goal shooting across her last five starts.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Western Carolina (3-11, 0-0 SoCon) snapped an 11-game skid with a 47-point rout of Montreat on December 30, and has now captured back-to-back victories for the first time this season with a 92-16 steamrolling of South Carolina Central Christian on Saturday. The Catamounts rank second among the eight Southern Conference squads with 3.8 blocks per game, but commit a league-high 18.6 fouls an outing, while also carrying the SoCon's worst 3-point percentage defense (.348). Frontcourt mates Ally Hollifield (12.3 ppg) and Taj Hunter (11.2) have combined for more than 23 points per game, while Hollifield also sports team-bests in rebounds (5.0), assists (4.0) and steals (2.1) per game as well.

MERCER/WESTERN CAROLINA SERIES
The Bears have captured 30 of the 31 previous meetings with the Catamounts in a series that dates back to the 1995-96 season, and will ride a 13-game series win streak into Cullowhee, N.C., on Thursday. Western Carolina snapped a 17-game series win streak with a 51-40 triumph over the Bears on Feb. 1, 2020, in Cullowhee, but Mercer has rebounded with 13 consecutive victories, including five that have been decided by two possessions or less. Mercer captured a 71-66 victory in Cullowhee last season, and then swept the season series with a 51-49 triumph 26 days later in Hawkins Arena.

ON DECK
Mercer will close out its two-game Southern Conference road trip on Saturday when it makes the short hop east to take on UNC Greensboro (10-5, 0-0 SoCon) inside Bodford Arena. Start time is scheduled for 2 p.m.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (X/Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @Mercer_wbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.