Mercer Bears take on the Western Carolina Catamounts, seek 6th straight win

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Mercer Bears (10-5) at Western Carolina Catamounts (3-11)

Cullowhee, North Carolina; Thursday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mercer is looking to prolong its five-game win streak with a victory over Western Carolina.

The Catamounts have gone 3-4 at home. Western Carolina ranks fifth in the SoCon with 10.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Aryana Dizon averaging 3.0.

The Bears have gone 4-4 away from home. Mercer is 1-2 against opponents with a winning record.

Western Carolina averages 5.9 made 3-pointers per game, 1.2 more made shots than the 4.7 per game Mercer gives up. Mercer's 38.6% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.7 percentage points lower than Western Carolina has allowed to its opponents (41.3%).

The Catamounts and Bears meet Thursday for the first time in SoCon play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ally Hollifield averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Catamounts, scoring 12.3 points while shooting 27.3% from beyond the arc. Taj Hunter is averaging 11.2 points over the last 10 games.

Abby Holtman is shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Bears, while averaging 11.1 points. Nahawa Diarra Berthe is shooting 37.3% and averaging 11.3 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Catamounts: 1-9, averaging 57.2 points, 30.8 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 35.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.5 points per game.

Bears: 7-3, averaging 68.6 points, 35.0 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 10.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 38.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.7 points.

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