Mercer Bows To Furman In SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 5

Asheville, N.C.

5:45 p.m.

Mercer University

17-13,7-7SoCon

Furman

18-12,9-5SoCon

Mercer

Furman

Mercer Bows To Furman In SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals

3/5/2026 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Fourth-seeded Furman bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 27-3 run to break open an otherwise close game, and the Paladins avenged a double-digit home loss just less than two weeks ago with a 66-45 win over fifth-seeded Mercer on Thursday evening in the quarterfinals round of the Southern Conference Championship.

The setback marked the second loss in the last three outings for the Bears (17-13) who engineered a 9-game turnaround from a season ago, while also more than doubling their overall win total. The Paladins (18-12) advance to Friday's semifinal action where they will take on top-seeded Chattanooga in a late-morning tilt.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Furman 66, Mercer 45
RECORDS: Mercer 17-13 (7-7 SoCon); Furman 18-12 (9-5 SoCon)
LOCATION: Asheville, N.C. (Harrah's Cherokee Center)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

While neither team showed the hot hand in the opening period, it was a combined 15 turnovers (8 by Furman) that kept the game close. The Paladins took a four-point lead, 9-5, on a short jumper from Tyriana Berry just more than midway through, but the Bears tacked up five-straight points to eventually forge a 12-11 lead through 10 minutes of play.

2ND QUARTER

Field goal shooting took centerstage in the second frame as Mercer shot better than 63 percent to get the better end of the offense, but Furman still managed to knot the score up at 29 apiece heading into the locker rooms. Mercer led by three points, 16-13, on Nahawa Diarra's jumper at the 6:51 mark, but Alyssa Ervin connected on a game-tying triple 40 minutes later to signal the scoreboard rollercoaster. The final six minutes of the period saw 11 lead changes and a quartet of tie scores.

3RD QUARTER

The rollercoaster theme continued for the first seven minutes of the third period, but the dam broke late as the Paladins scored eight of the stanza's last 10 points to carry a 45-39 lead into the fourth quarter. Neither team was able to scratch the scoreboard for the first 2-1/2 minutes until Micah O'Dell canned a 3-pointer to give MU a 32-29 advantage. Furman tacked up the game's next eight points to take a 37-32 lead, but the Bears rallied for five-straight points of their own, including Nahawa Diarra's long-range jumper that gave the game its seventh tie score, 37-37, at the 3:44 mark.

4TH QUARTER

Furman put the finishing touches on its 27-3 run on Sophia Pearl's trey with 1:41 left that gave Furman a 64-40 advantage. Mercer connected on its first bucket of the fourth quarter on Nahawa Diarra's driving layup with 78 seconds left, and then provided the final on Abigail Holtman's 3-pointer 50 seconds later.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Micah O'Dell finished with a team-high 14 points, including a 3-pointer, while also adding a trio of steals and two rebounds.
+ Senior Nahawa Diarra chipped in a dozen points to close out her collegiate career, while also posting nine rebounds to flirt with a double-double.
+ Sophomore Stephanie Utomi came in off of the bench to tally seven points, three rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes of action.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer finishes the 2025-26 season with a 17-13 record – a 9-game turnaround from last season's 8-22 clip. The Bears also more than doubled their win total from a season ago.
+ The Bears fell to 19-8 all-time in 12 appearances at the Southern Conference Championship. Mercer is now 9-3 in tournament-opening games.
+ Seniors Ariana Bennett, Elena Cabello and Nahawa Diarra all wrapped up their collegiate careers with Thursday's setback in Asheville, N.C. Bennett concluded her four-year career with 1,160 points and 577 rebounds in 114 career games, while Diarra tallied 1,081 points, 527 rebounds, 200 steals and 287 assists in 126 collegiate games. Cabello scored 280 points and added 170 rebounds in 78 career games played.

UP NEXT

Season complete

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.