Bennett leads Mercer against UNC Greensboro after 21-point performance

Mercer Bears (6-14, 1-4 SoCon) at UNC Greensboro Spartans (13-6, 4-1 SoCon)

Greensboro, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mercer takes on UNC Greensboro after Ariana Bennett scored 21 points in Mercer's 57-47 loss to the Furman Paladins.

The Spartans are 9-0 on their home court. UNC Greensboro scores 65.9 points while outscoring opponents by 14.0 points per game.

The Bears are 1-4 in conference play. Mercer is eighth in the SoCon with 9.5 assists per game led by Nahawa Diarra Berthe averaging 2.8.

UNC Greensboro averages 65.9 points per game, 3.2 more points than the 62.7 Mercer gives up. Mercer averages 2.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.4 fewer made shots on average than the 4.5 per game UNC Greensboro gives up.

The Spartans and Bears face off Thursday for the first time in SoCon play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jayde Gamble is scoring 12.6 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Spartans. Nya Smith is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Ashlee Locke is averaging 7.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for the Bears. Kayla Smith is averaging 1.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 6-4, averaging 64.3 points, 33.9 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 10.8 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 40.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 53.0 points per game.

Bears: 2-8, averaging 50.2 points, 23.1 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 6.2 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 35.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.1 points.

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

The Associated Press