Mercer faces Furman on 3-game losing streak

Audio By Carbonatix

Mercer Bears (7-18, 2-8 SoCon) at Furman Paladins (13-13, 3-7 SoCon)

Travelers Rest, South Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mercer heads into the matchup with Furman after losing three games in a row.

The Paladins are 7-3 on their home court. Furman leads the SoCon in rebounding, averaging 35.5 boards. Kate Johnson leads the Paladins with 6.3 rebounds.

The Bears have gone 2-8 against SoCon opponents. Mercer ranks eighth in the SoCon with 5.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Ariana Bennett averaging 2.0.

Furman is shooting 41.9% from the field this season, 1.1 percentage points higher than the 40.8% Mercer allows to opponents. Mercer averages 52.2 points per game, 12.0 fewer points than the 64.2 Furman gives up to opponents.

The Paladins and Bears meet Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Sydney Ryan is shooting 32.0% from beyond the arc with 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Paladins, while averaging 10.5 points and six rebounds. Tate Walters is shooting 38.8% and averaging 14.6 points over the last 10 games.

Kayla Smith is shooting 26.4% from beyond the arc with 1.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Bears, while averaging 5.2 points. Nahawa Diarra Berthe is shooting 34.7% and averaging 10.1 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Paladins: 3-7, averaging 62.9 points, 32.6 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 7.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game.

Bears: 2-8, averaging 50.0 points, 21.2 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 4.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 37.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.1 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.