BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After not having a midweek game, the Samford women's basketball looks to stay atop the Southern Conference standings as the Bulldogs travel to Mercer for a Saturday matinee with the Bears. 
  
The Saturday SoCon showdown between Samford and Mercer is slated for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff and the game can be streamed on ESPN+. Samford game notes can be found here. 
  
Samford enters the weekend riding a six-game win streak that has pushed the Bulldog record to a 10-9 overall record and 4-0 in SoCon play. The six-game win streak ties the longest winning streak in the Carley Kuhns era. Mercer brings a 6-11 record (2-2 SoCon) to the matchup on Saturday. 
  
The Bulldogs and the Beats are meeting for the 32nd time in program history with Mercer holding a 22-9 record in the all-time series. In the last meeting, Mercer ended Samford's season with a 65-35 decision at the SoCon Tournament. 
  
In the first 18 games of the season, coach Kuhns has started the lineup of Andrea Bailey, Sussy Ngulefac, Kathleen Wheeler, Alyssa Tarpley and Sanaa Redmond. Masyn Marchbanks made her first collegiate start at ETSU, replacing Redmond in the starting lineup. 
  
Bailey is once again playing at a SoCon Player of the Year level averaging 18.3 points per game, which ranks first in the SoCon and 39th nationally. The senior also ranks Top 25 nationally in field goal attempts (22nd/279), made field goals (22nd/127), points (21st/348), steals (11th/56) and steals per game (19th/2.95). 
 
Redshirt freshman Carly Heidger has been the most impactful Bulldog off the bench this season appear­ing in all but one game. Heidger leads all Bulldog reserves by 6.1 points per game. Since the start of conference play, the forward is averaging 10 points per game with 4.3 rebounds.
  
Since the Northern Colorado game, redshirt freshman Emily Bowman has started to come into her own by averaging 6.8 points per game and pulling down 34 rebounds which ranks second on the team.
  
Since arriving on campus before the 2019-20 season, coach Kuhns and the Bulldogs are 32-13 in SoCon play overall and 17-3 against SoCon opponents at home.
  
With a win, Samford would start league play 5-0 for the first time since joining the SoCon in 2008. 
Entering the weekend, Samford is one of only three schools in the country to be unbeaten on the men's and women's side while sitting atop the conference. The two other schools are Morgan State and Fairleigh Dickenson.
  
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For the latest news and information on Samford women's basketball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordWomensBasketball (Facebook), @SamfordWBB (Instagram) and @SamfordWBB (Twitter).