Bears Rally In Second Half To Top Western Carolina

Saturday, February 7

Macon, Ga.

2 p.m.

Mercer University

14-9,4-4SoCon

Western Carolina

3-20,0-9SoCon

Western Carolina

Mercer

Bears Rally In Second Half To Top Western Carolina

2/7/2026 7:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – Mercer connected on better than 51 percent of its shot attempts over the game's final 30 minutes and took the lead for good on Talia Harris's short-range jumper midway through the third quarter on the way to a 61-51 over visiting Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon in Hawkins Arena.

It was the eighth home win of the season for the Bears (14-9, 4-4 SoCon) who forced 20 turnovers in the contest, while also getting the better end of a 32-30 disparity in the rebounding column. Western Carolina (3-20, 0-9) has now dropped nine-straight games with Saturday's setback and fell to 1-32 all-time in the 31-year-old series with the Orange & Black.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 61, Western Carolina 51
RECORDS: Mercer 14-9 (4-4 SoCon); Western Carolina 3-20 (0-9 SoCon)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

It was a scoreless affair for much of the first three minutes of the afternoon, but Grace Pack's second-chance jumper at the 7:02 mark sparked the Catamounts on an 11-2 run over the next two minutes to help the visitors take control early. Mercer chipped away its deficit for the remainder of the period, however, and trailed by just three points, 13-10, through 10 minutes of action.

2ND QUARTER

Although yielding seven of the first nine points of the second frame, Mercer found its shooting touch and began to inflict some offensive damage. The hosts tacked up eight-straight points to give the game its first tie score, 20-20, after Micah O'Dell's 3-pointer with 3:12 left before the intermission. Betsey Burnett's triple 90 seconds later, however, allowed WCU to lug a slight advantage, 25-24, into the locker rooms.

3RD QUARTER

Western Carolina got a trey from Christina Bowers to take a 30-27 advantage just 2-1/2 minutes into the third period, but Mercer scored six-straight points to take its first lead – one that it would not relinquish. Nahawa Diarra hit nothing but net on a 3-point attempt with 32 ticks remaining in the third quarter to give MU a 40-35 advantage, but Western Carolina answered with one of its own on the other end of the court to get the fans closer to the edge of their seat.

4TH QUARTER

Mercer closed out the afternoon with a big fourth quarter, shooting 6-for-10 from the field, while also canning all seven of its free throw attempts. Taj Hunter pulled the Catamounts to within a lone point, 43-42, on a layup at the 8:23 mark, but the Bears answered with seven-straight points to pull away for good.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Ariana Bennett came in off of the bench to post a team-high 14 points on 4-for-4 field goal shooting, as well as a 6-for-6 clip from the charity stripe.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra chipped in a dozen points, including eight in the second half. She added four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
+ Junior Micah O'Dell and sophomore Talia Harris tallied 10 points apiece. O'Dell recorded five rebounds as well, while Harris turned in five boards and a trio of assists.

NOTABLES

+ The Bears registered a perfect 10-for-10 tally at the free throw line on Saturday, marking the fourth time in the last six games that MU has shot 81 percent or better from the charity stripe.
+ Mercer has now connected on 43 percent or better from the field in consecutive games after Saturday's 45.1 percent shooting effort. The Bears have shot 42 percent or better from the field in nine contests.
+ The Orange & Black posted three blocks against the Catamounts, marking the 15^th-straight game that the Bears have turned in multiple swats.

UP NEXT

The Bears will open up a four-game road trip on Tuesday when they trek to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on East Tennessee State (12-11, 5-3 SoCon) inside Brooks Gymnasium. Start time is slated for 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for February 1, but was postponed due to winter storm that sliced its way through Tennessee and Virginia.

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BACK THE BEARS

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