GAME NOTES 

ESPN3 BROADCAST 

LIVE STATS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Samford women's basketball team will host the Mercer Bears in the team's Southern Conference home opener Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. The game can be seen live on ESPN3.
 
Both teams enter the contest at 2-0 in Southern Conference play after weekend sweeps of Western Carolina and UNCG.
 
Samford enters the game with a record of 10-7 overall. The Bulldogs are coming off a 57-52 win at UNCG last Saturday.
 
Entering this weekend, sophomore forward Destiney Elliott leads Samford in scoring, with an average of 8.8 points per game. Senior center Taylor Reece averages 8.5 points per game for the Bulldogs.
 
Elliott also leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 7.9 boards per contest. Senior guard Amara Mayers ranks second on the squad in rebounding, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
Junior guard Brittany Stevens leads the team in assists, dishing out 2.8 assists per game. Elliott is second on the squad in assists, averaging 1.8 assists per game.
 
Mercer comes into the game with a record of 12-5 overall. The Bears are coming off a 92-88 overtime win at Western Carolina last Saturday.
         
The Bears are led in scoring by Kahlia Lawrence, averaging 17.9 points per game. Linnea Rosendal scores 9.7 points per game for Mercer.
         
Rachel Selph is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 5.9 boards per contest. Amanda Thompson averages 5.8 rebounds per game for the Bears.
         
Sydni Means leads Mercer in assists, dishing out 5.6 assists per game. Lawrence averages 2.8 assists per game, ranking second on the squad.
 
Samford and Mercer will be meeting for the 14th time, with Mercer holding a 9-4 advantage in the series. The teams met twice last season, with Mercer winning both contests. On Feb. 2, Mercer defeated Samford, 74-59 in the Pete Hanna Center. The teams met again on Feb. 28, with Mercer earning a 70-65 win over the Bulldogs in Macon, Ga.
 
Samford and Mercer were co-members of the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1997 until 2003. Mercer joined the Southern Conference last season.
 
Saturday's game is set for a 2 p.m. start from the Pete Hanna Center. In addition to the ESPN3 broadcast, live stats will be available at www.samfordsports.com.