GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Kahlia Lawrence scored 26 points and Mercer roared back from an early deficit to defeat Furman 61-50 in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.

The victory was the 10th in the last 11 games for Mercer (16-6, 6-1 SoCon) and kept the Bears in a first place tie atop the SoCon standings with Samford, which defeated Wofford on Saturday.

The loss marked the third straight home setback for Furman (11-1, 4-3 SoCon), which was paced by Cierra Carter's 16 points and career high 15 rebounds — her sixth double-double of the season.

Mercer fell behind 9-0 out of the gate and trailed 19-8 after one quarter before charging back behind Lawrence, who scored 24 of her 26 points over the final three periods.  The sophomore guard feasted on the strength of 12-for-25 shooting from the field and added two free throws to go along with eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

Lawrence did her biggest damage in the second quarter, exploding for 14 points, nine of which came in an 11-0 run over the final 5:29 that helped the Bears erase a 24-15 deficit and take a 26-24 lead into intermission following a Sydni Means three-point play with 12 seconds to go.
 
The Bears continued their onslaught in the third period, outscoring the Paladins 21-10 to lead 47-34 heading to the fourth quarter.

Furman used a 10-1 spurt to cut the deficit to 51-44 on a Holli Wilkins 3-pointer, but a free throw by Amanda Thompson and Lawrence bucket pushed the advantage back to 54-44 with 4:42 left.  The Paladins failed to draw closer after misfiring on five consecutive treys down the stretch.

Furman, the only SoCon team shooting above 30.0 percent from 3-point range entering the game, struggled for a second straight game from beyond the arc, connecting on just 6-of-27 treys (22.2 percent) on the way to a 34.5 percent overall shooting effort (19-of-55).

Linnea Rosendal joined Lawerence in double figures with 16 points, and Means finished with eight points, eight assists, and seven steals.  The Bears racked up 13 steals, made possible by 22 Paladin turnovers.

Lawrence accounted for half of Mercer's 24 field goals (24-of-62, 38.7 percent).

Holli Wilkins contributed 13 points for Furman.