Bears Get Defensive In Home Win Over UNC Greensboro

Thursday, February 5

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

13-9,3-4SoCon

UNC Greensboro

13-10,3-5SoCon

UNC Greensboro

Mercer

Bears Get Defensive In Home Win Over UNC Greensboro

2/5/2026 9:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer shot 17-for-21 from the free throw line and forced 13 turnovers in the second half alone as the home-standing Bears snapped a three-game skid with a 67-58 victory over Southern Conference nemesis UNC Greensboro on Thursday evening in Hawkins Arena.

It was the seventh home win of the 2025-26 campaign for the Bears (13-9, 3-4 SoCon) who also registered a dozen steals and posted a 33-29 win in the rebounding column as well. UNC Greensboro (13-10, 3-5) has now dropped four of its last five outings, and saw its four-game series win streak against the Orange & Black come to an end on Thursday as well.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 67, UNC Greensboro 58
RECORDS: Mercer 13-9 (3-4 SoCon); UNC Greensboro 13-10 (3-5 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Mercer connected on four of its first seven field goal attempts to race out to an 11-0 lead through the first two minutes of play, but UNC Greensboro answered with 10-straight points of its own to get back into the contest three minutes later. The Bears eventually lugged an 18-17 advantage into the second stanza.

2ND QUARTER

The sides managed a dozen points apiece in the second period as Mercer eventually took a 30-29 lead into the intermission. The Bears had the hotter shooting hand with a 5-for-10 success rate in the frame, but the Spartans turned the ball over just one time, and kept themselves in the hunt thanks to a 4-for-7 performance from the free throw line.

3RD QUARTER

Mercer forced seven turnovers and went 8-for-11 in the third quarter alone to turn the table for good. Rylan Moffitt gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 31-30, on a second-chance jumper at the 8:58 mark, but Nahawa Diarra canned two free throws on the other end of the court to put Mercer up for good. The Bears strung together 10-straight points just a few minutes later for emphasis.

4TH QUARTER

UNC Greensboro took a couple of stabs at mounting a fourth-quarter comeback, but the Bears had the answer on both occasions. The Spartans pulled to within five points, 58-53, following Makiah Asidanya's triple with 3:10 left to play, but Mercer answered with a 7-0 run to go up by a dozen points, 65-53, just less than two minutes later.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Nahawa Diarra matched a team-high with 14 points, while also adding six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Her free throws at the 8:08 mark in the third period marked the 999^th and 1,000^th point of her illustrious collegiate career.
+ Freshman Rania Curry matched a team-high with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting to highlight her second start of the season. She chipped in five rebounds and two assists as well.
+ Juniors Micah O'Dell and Elena Cabello added 13 points apiece. Cabello went 5-for-6 from the field to fuel her offensive numbers, while O'Dell tallied five rebounds and a trio of assists.
+ Sophomore Talia Kemp finished her night with 11 points, while also registering three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

NOTABLES

+ Thursday's result snapped a three-game losing skid for the Bears, who also snapped a four-game skid in the 48-year-old series with UNC Greensboro. It was MU's first win in the series since a 76-52 rout of the Spartans on Jan. 18, 2024.
+ Mercer out-rebounded its opponent (33-29) for the second time in three games on Thursday, and has now gotten the better end of the rebounding battle 11 times this season.
+ The Bears tallied a dozen steals against the Spartans on Thursday – the 13^th time this season that Mercer has posted double-digit swipes. MU also registered two blocks against UNC Greensboro – the 14^th-straight time that the squad has tallied multiple swats.

UP NEXT

Mercer will close out its quick two-game home stand on Saturday when it bunkers down to battle Western Carolina (3-18, 0-7 SoCon) in Hawkins Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow Mercer Women's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" Mercer Women's Basketball on Facebook.

BACK THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email maf@mercer.edu.