Greenville, S.C. – After a Whitney Bunn three pointer with 4.4 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime, Mercer proved too much for the Paladins, outlasting Furman 88-82 on Saturday in Timmons Arena. The win moved Mercer to 15-11, 7-3 SoCon on the season, while the loss dropped the Paladins to 15-11 and 4-6 in SoCon play. 

Furman was led by Brittany Hodges, who finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds for her SoCon-leading ninth double-double of the season. Bunn also added 24 points, just two shy of her career-high and notched a team-high seven assists.

Kahlia Lawrence led the Bears with 24 points, followed by Southern Conference scoring leader Precious Bridges with 22. Teanna Robinson pulled down 14 of Mercer's 35 rebounds, while Alicia Williams also scored in double-figures with 14.

Furman's shooting from behind the arc fueled a furious second half rally, as the Paladins went 8-of-10 from three point range in the game's final 20 minutes.

Down nine at the break, Furman cut the lead to five with 17:21 remaining, before Mercer pushed the lead back to nine with 16:19 left. The Paladins then used a 5-0 run to cut the margin to three with 13:32 remaining, but Mercer would not go away quietly, pushing the lead back to 12 over the next nine minutes and taking a 71-59 lead with 4:01 left in regulation. Consecutive threes by Kelsey Ellis cut the lead in half at 71-65, before Mercer extended the lead to eight with 1:50 left in regulation.

Two free throws by Sarah Durdaller, a Whitney Bunn steal and Ellis jumper cut the lead to four with just 1:24 remaining. Furman used another Bunn layup to cut the lead to two with 38 seconds left, before Mercer made 1-of-2 free throws to take a 74-71 lead with 24 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Whitney Bunn hit her fourth three pointer of the day to tie the game with just 4.4 seconds left to send the contest to overtime.

The teams traded baskets early in overtime, until a 6-0 Mercer run over 45 seconds put the game out of reach for the Paladins.

In the first half, Mercer jumped out to an early 14-point lead with 15:08 remaining, before the Paladins scored seven-straight points to cut the lead to seven with 11:17 remaining. Mercer extended the margin back to thirteen with 8:48 left in the first half and the teams traded baskets until a Hodges layup cut the lead to eight with 46 seconds remaining in the half. Kayla Potts hit a three-pointer to push the Mercer lead back to double-digits 15 seconds remaining until halftime, but a layup by Bunn as the first-half clock expired sent the teams to the locker room with Mercer leading 33-24.

Furman is back in action on Monday night, hosting Samford in a 7:00 pm SoCon matchup in Timmons Arena.