GREENSBORO, N.C. – Winners of their last four games, UNCG women's basketball travels to Macon, Georgia Saturday for a 2:00 pm tipoff with Mercer at Hawkins Arena. The Spartans have catapulted themselves to 14-11 and 5-5 in Southern Conference play, while the Bears sit second in the conference at 19-5 and 8-2 in SoCon action.
Fans can tune in to ESPN3 to watch a live broadcast of the game, while a link to live stats is available at UNCGSpartans.com.
In Thursday's road tilt against Samford, UNCG grabbed its first SoCon road win of the season and completed the first sweep of a conference opponent since 2012-13, defeating the Bulldogs 55-47. Nadine Soliman (Cario, Egypt/Mokattam Language School) led the Spartans with 15 points, while Shanese Harris (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood).
The Bears are coming off of a dominating 84-53 victory over Western Carolina Thursday. Mercer shot a blazing 63.3-percent from the field in the first half and turned 23 Catamount turnovers into 33 points. The Bears had five players in double-figures, led by Kahlia Lawrence's 13 points.
For the Spartans to leave the Peach State with a victory, they'll likely get no help from their opponent. Mercer has committed the third fewest turnovers in the nation with 246, coming in at sixth nationally with a 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Bears also rank 13th in the country in fouls, committing just 13.6 infractions per game.
The Bears rank tops in the SoCon in offensive and defensive scoring, posting 66.5 points per game, while holding opponents to 57.1 PPG, a 9.5-point scoring margin. Mercer also swipes a league-high 9.8 steals per game.
The area where UNCG will perhaps have an opportunity to exploit is rebounding. The Spartans snatch 5.2 more rebounds per game than their opponents, while the Bears hold just a 0.9 boards per game advantage over their foes.
The Spartans and Bears tipoff at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia.
-UNCG-
