Mercer Heads to Illinois For Midweek Game

MACON, Ga. – The Bears are on the road again and are headed to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the Illini on Tuesday evening. The Mercer women's basketball team will take on Illinois in the first of three straight road games for the Bears.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Tuesday, November 22 | 8 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (3-1, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Illinois (2-2, 0-0, Big Ten)
Location: Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Game Notes: Mercer | Illinois
Live Stats: FightingIllini.com | Video: BTN Plus
Twitter Updates: @MercerWBB

LAWRENCE LEADING THE WAY ONCE AGAIN
Kahlia Lawrence was uncharacteristically quiet in Mercer's first two games, scoring just 11 and 13 points for the Bears. In the past two games, however, the energetic junior has netted 29 and 34 points, upping her season high each time. Lawrence currently leads both Mercer and the Southern Conference with 21.8 points per game and is ranked 29th nationally.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR CALLOWAY
KeKe Calloway finished her freshman season as one of Mercer's leading scorers in the SoCon Tournament. The guard has started her sophomore season in much of the same fashion as she is currently second for the Bears with 19.5 points per game. Calloway also ranks third in the league and 59th nationally in ppg. Additionally, she ranks 32nd nationally and third in the SoCon with 78 total points.

KEKE FOR THREE!
In addition to scoring 19.5 points per game, Calloway has net a team-leading 13 three-pointers so far this season. The sophomore leads the league and is 16th nationally in three-pointers made. She also ranks first in the conference and 24th nationally in attempts.

OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
So far this season, Mercer has proved that it will continue to put on a show on offense. The Bears are leading the SoCon in scoring offense (74.5), scoring margin (+9.8), field goal percentage (.432), assists (61) and assist/turnover ratio (1.61). Mercer is also ranked sixth nationally in assist/turnover ratio and 51st in total assists.

HOLDING ONTO THE BALL
After committing a season-low three turnovers in Friday's game against Florida Atlantic, Mercer is now leading the nation with just 9.5 turnovers per game. Additionally, the three turnovers is a nation-wide single-game low this season.

SHARING IS CARING
After finishing last season leading the SoCon in total assists and assists per game, Sydni Means is still on top. Means has dished out 28 assists and is averaging 7.0 apg, once again leading the league in both. She is ranked 10th nationally in total assists and 21st in apg. Means also leads the conference with a 4.67 assist/ turnover ratio and ranks 16th nationally.

MERCER RECEIVING VOTES IN LATEST MID-MAJOR POLL
The Bears are receiving votes in the latest edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Mercer has 67 points, the second-most of a team outside the Top 25.
Mercer joins No. 4 Chattanooga as the only two SoCon teams to be ranked in the preseason poll, which is made up of head coaches from 31 mid-major programs. The Bears are only 24 points outside of the poll, which was released prior to the win over Campbell last week.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between Mercer and Illinois.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Illinois has started the season with a 2-2 record, which is also its record at home as the Illini have not hit the road yet this year.

The argument could be made that the Illini's starting five is very familiar to the Bears as Illinois most recently started three freshmen and two sophomores, the exact makeup of Mercer's starting lineup in 31 games last season. The Bears know from experience that a young team should not be underestimated, as Mercer had a record-setting season last year.

Alex Wittinger leads Illinois with 16.0 ppg and 11.3 rebounds per game and is the only player on the team to average in double figures in either category. Wittinger is second in the Big Ten in rebounds per game and 13th in points per game. She also ranks 25th nationally in rebounds per game and with three double-doubles thus far, is second nationally.

Ali Andrews is second for the Illini with 9.3 points per game, followed by Petra Holesinska with 8.0 ppg. Brandi Beasley is the second-most balanced player on the team with 7.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg, ranking second for Illinois in rebounds per game.

As a team, Illinois has outscored its opponents by an average of 5.0 ppg. The Illini are shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from outside the three-point line. They are averaging 5.3 three-pointers made per game, while opponents have tallied 5.0 treys a game. The Illini are also outrebounding opponents 42.2-35.5 rpg.

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Women's Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWBB (Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @MercerWBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

KeKe Calloway

Kahlia Lawrence

Sydni Means

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