Furman squares off against Mercer in SoCon Tournament

Mercer Bears (17-12, 7-7 SoCon) vs. Furman Paladins (17-12, 9-5 SoCon)

Asheville, North Carolina; Thursday, 5:45 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Furman plays in the SoCon Tournament against Mercer.

The Paladins' record in SoCon play is 9-5, and their record is 8-7 against non-conference opponents. Furman is 4-1 in one-possession games.

The Bears are 7-7 in SoCon play. Mercer has a 5-8 record against teams over .500.

Furman's average of 5.6 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.1 more made shots on average than the 5.5 per game Mercer allows. Mercer has shot at a 38.1% clip from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points fewer than the 38.8% shooting opponents of Furman have averaged.

The teams meet for the third time this season. Mercer won 80-63 in the last matchup on Feb. 21. Abby Holtman led Mercer with 16 points, and Alyssa Ervin led Furman with 19 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Clare Coyle is averaging 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals for the Paladins. Ervin is averaging 13.7 points and 1.5 steals over the last 10 games.

Talia Kemp is averaging 6.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals for the Bears. Nahawa Diarra Berthe is averaging 10.3 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Paladins: 6-4, averaging 61.3 points, 33.0 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 9.3 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 39.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.7 points per game.

Bears: 5-5, averaging 60.6 points, 29.7 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.9 points.

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