Bears Open Up SoCon Tournament Play On Thursday

MACON – The Mercer women's basketball team will begin its road in the postseason on Thursday evening when the fifth-seeded Bears suit up to take on fourth-seeded Furman in the quarterfinals round of the 2026 Southern Conference Championship in Asheville, N.C. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.

Fans unable to make the trip to the Tar Heel State can still follow the action for free via a live statistics link provided by the Southern Conference. The game is also scheduled to be broadcasted live on ESPN+. Rick Cameron and the rest of the Mercer Sports Network will call all of the action as well, and fans can listen to that broadcast on The Creek 100.9 FM, or by visiting Sportsmic.

ABOUT THE GAME
Date: Thursday, March 5 Time: 5:45 p.m. ET Location: Asheville, N.C. I Harrah's Cherokee Center TV: ESPN+ Listen Live: 100.9 The Creek I Sportsmic Network Live Statistics: MercerBears.com/Live Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

TICKETS
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting the Southern Conference's ticketing portal.

LAST TIME OUT
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 who registered their first win over the Mocs since a 59-53 triumph in Macon on Feb. 3, 2022.

ABOUT THE BEARS
The Bears (17-12) have already more than doubled their win total from a season ago and will roll into Asheville, N.C., having captured two of their last three outings, including a 17-point win over Furman two weeks ago in Greenville, S.C. The Orange & Black ranks among the league's top two teams in eight statistical categories, including the Southern Conference's top 3-point shooting percentage (31.8). MU boasts eight wins away from Macon this season, and has forced 18.0 turnovers per game in road/neutral site contests, including 9.3 steals per game. Senior Nahawa Diarra, a second team All-SoCon award winner and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team, leads the Bears in scoring at 11.0 points per game, while also pacing the Bears in rebounds (5.2) and steals (1.8) an outing.

SCOUTING FURMAN
The Paladins (17-12) snapped a two-game skid with a dominant 64-42 home win over Wofford on Saturday. Furman limited the Southern Conference's hottest team to just 16 points in the second half to fuel that win. Furman will ride the SoCon's top scoring team (67.8 points/game) into Asheville, N.C., but the Paladins also boast one of the league's top rebounding squads (+4.3/game) as well. Defensively, the Paladins have forced a league-best 20.5 turnovers per game, while also showcasing the SoCon's top shot-blocking (4.3 blocks/game) as well. Sophomore Clare Coyle was named a first team All-SoCon selection on Tuesday after leading the league in rebounding (9.3/game), field goal percentage (.541) and double-doubles (11), while also ranking fourth among the conference's top scorers with 14.8 points per game.

MERCER/FURMAN SERIES
Mercer is 26-10 all-time in its 47-year-old series with Furman that dates back to the 1979-80 campaign. The Bears snapped a three-game series skid with an 80-63 win over the Paladins in Greenville, S.C., just two weeks ago, but have dropped four of the last six games to the Paladins since the 2022-23 season. The Orange & Black is 4-0 all-time against Furman in the SoCon Tournament, including wins over the Paladins in the 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022 league championship.

UP NEXT
With a win over Furman, Mercer will advance to Friday's semifinal round where it will play in an 11 a.m. contest against the winner of Thursday's matchup between top-seeded Chattanooga and eighth-seeded Western Carolina.

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.

Bears Open Up SoCon Tournament Play On Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Nahawa Diarra

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