Mercer Topples League-Leading Chattanooga In Home Finale

Saturday, February 28

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

17-12,7-7SoCon

Chattanooga

18-9,10-4SoCon

Chattanooga

Mercer

Mercer Topples League-Leading Chattanooga In Home Finale

2/28/2026 9:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score SoCon Tournament Bracket

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer shot nearly 44 percent from the field and used a dozen-straight points in the third quarter to pull away for good as the Bears closed out Hawkins Arena for the 2025-26 season in style with a convincing 68-55 win over Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon in Macon.

The decision snapped a nine-game series skid for the Bears (17-12, 7-7 SoCon) who registered their first win over the Mocs since a 59-53 triumph in Macon on Feb. 3, 2022. It was the fourth loss in the last six outings for Chattanooga (18-9, 10-4) who inevitably raked in a piece of the league's regular season championship.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 68, Chattanooga 55
RECORDS: Mercer 17-12 (7-7 SoCon); Chattanooga 18-9 (10-4 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Neither team was able to gain much of an edge in the opening period, combing for just 27 points and five turnovers, but it was the visitors that showed the 14-13 advantage through 10 minutes of play. Mercer scored the first seven points of the afternoon to take control early, but the Mocs answered with seven consecutive points of their own to knot the score back up less than two minutes later.

2ND QUARTER

The Bears forced four turnovers and connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter to swing the momentum in their direction. Chattanooga took a 16-13 lead on Gianna Corbitt's layup just 34 seconds into the frame, but Talia Kemp's triple on the other end of the court ignited the hosts on a 15-3 run that changed the afternoon for good. The Mocs, however, scored the last four points of the opening half to make it a two-possession game, 30-24, at the intermission.

3RD QUARTER

Mercer retained the hot shooting hand coming out of the halftime gates, and outscored their SoCon rivals 18-14 in the stanza to pad their cushion. Chattanooga tacked up the first five points of the second half to eventually pull to within a lone point, 30-29, after Caia Elisaldez's running layup at the 9:08 mark, but Talia Kemp's lay-in 28 seconds later marked the first of 12-straight points that pushed MU's lead back to double digits. Kemp's layup with two ticks left on the scoreboard gave the Bears a 48-38 lead heading to the final quarter.

4TH QUARTER

The Bears used 50 percent field goal shooting, as well as an 8-for-12 success rate at the free throw line, to throw up 20 points in the final period that sealed the deal. Chattanooga was unable to whittle its deficit down to single digits throughout the entirety of the final frame as Mercer eventually pushed its lead out to a game-best 15 points, 68-53, on a free throw from Nahawa Diarra with 50 seconds remaining.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Sophomore Talia Kemp had herself a day on the hardwood, tallying a career-high 19 points on 7-for-9 field goal shooting to go along with five assists, two rebounds and a steal in just 23 minutes of action. She scored a dozen points in the second half alone.
+ Junior Micah O'Dell netted all 12 of her points on 4-for-8 shooting in the second half. She also finished the afternoon with six rebounds and a pair of assists.
+ Senior Ariana Bennett came in off of the bench to chip in 10 points, five rebounds and a block.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer snapped a string of nine-straight losses in the series with Chattanooga, recording its first win against the Mocs since a 59-53 road triumph on Feb. 3, 2022. Saturday's decision also stopped a three-game series home losing streak to UTC as well.
+ The Bears shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57) in Saturday's victory – the 11^th time this season that the Orange & Black has connected on at least 40 percent of its field goal attempts.
+ MU boasted a 39-36 advantage in the rebounding column on Saturday – the 14^th time this season that the Bears have gotten the better end of the rebounding battle. Saturday's performance included 11 offensive boards.

UP NEXT

Fifth-seeded Mercer will begin its postseason road on Thursday when it takes on fourth-seeded Furman (17-12) in the opening round of the 2026 Southern Conference Championships in Asheville, N.C. Tipoff for that contest is slated for 5:45 p.m. at Harrah's Cherokee Center.

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BACK THE BEARS

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