Bears Net Big Win At Furman To Close Out Road Slate

Saturday, February 21

Greenville, S.C.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

16-11,6-6SoCon

Furman

16-12,8-5SoCon

Mercer

Furman

Bears Net Big Win At Furman To Close Out Road Slate

2/21/2026 4:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Visiting Mercer shot better than 48 percent from the field and scored 20 points off of 22 Furman turnovers as the Bears closed out the road portion of their regular season schedule on a high note with a 80-63 win over the Paladins on Saturday afternoon in Timmons Arena.

The decision snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bears (16-11, 6-6 SoCon) who posted their best offensive day in more than a month, while also recording their most lopsided with over a Southern Conference opponent since Jan. 20, 2024. It was the fourth-straight home loss for the Paladins (16-12, 8-5) who entered the weekend boasting the league's top scoring offense (68.1 ppg).

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 80. Furman 63
RECORDS: Mercer 16-11 (6-6 SoCon); Furman 16-12 (8-5 SoCon)
LOCATION: Greenville, S.C. (Timmons Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Furman showed a slight shooting edge in the game's opening period, and used an 11-4 run to eventually forge a 15-8 lead following a short jumper from Raina McGowens at the 3:19 mark. The Bears chipped away at the deficit, however, and used an old-fashioned 3-point play with 34 seconds left to cut the lead back to just one point, 20-19, through 10 minutes of action.

2ND QUARTER

While neither team exhibited a hot shooting hand in the second quarter, nine turnovers from the hosts eventually swung the momentum for good. Furman led 31-23 after a pair of free throws from Alyssa Ervin with 3:14 showing on the scoreboard, but the Paladins went scoreless for the remainder of the first half. MU used the drought to its advantage, scoring 11-straight points to take a 34-31 lead into the break.

3RD QUARTER

The Paladins hung around for the first two minutes of the third stanza, but the Bears eventually put together a 12-3 run and pushed their lead out to double digits, 53-43, on a triple from Abigail Holtman with 3:02 left. Five-straight points from Furman, however, would make it a two-possession game, 55-50, heading to the final frame.

4TH QUARTER

The Bears used a lights out defensive effort, as well as a 14-for-15 performance from the free throw line, in the fourth quarter to close it out. Furman canned just two of their 11 field goal attempts over the final 10 minutes, and Mercer scored 17 of the game's final 19 points to provide the final.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Abigail Holtman matched a game- and team-high with 16 points on 4-for-8 field goal shooting, as well as a perfect 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds to her stat line.
+ Senior Ariana Bennett scored 11 of her 16 points in the second half, while also tallying four rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks. Bennett went 4-for-7 from the field across the third and fourth periods.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra chipped in 14 points, including a 6-for-6 clip from the charity stripe, while junior Micah O'Dell added 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer's 17-point win over Furman was its most lopsided victory over a Southern Conference opponent since a 78-44 home win over Western Carolina on Jan. 20, 2024. The Bears, who stopped a three-game series losing streak on Saturday, also tallied their most lopsided win over the Paladins since an 88-69 road victory on Feb. 23, 2023.
+ The 24-for-28 (.857) showing from the free throw line marked the fifth time this season that MU has registered 20 or more made free throws. It is also the sixth time this season that the Bears have connected on 85 percent of their free throw attempts or better.
+ Mercer has now doubled its win total from a year ago (8-22), and finished off their road schedule with a 7-8 mark. It is the most road wins for the program since the 2021-22 club went 10-4 in true road games.

UP NEXT

The Bears will host their final two games of the regular season next week in Hawkins Arena, beginning with a Thursday night tilt with East Tennessee State. Mercer is also scheduled to take on Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon in Macon.

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BACK THE BEARS

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