MACON, GA. -- Kahlia Lawrence scored 34 points, including the game winning shot with 11 seconds remaining, to help Mercer claim a 64-62 victory over Furman in the Southern Conference regular season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

After Furman's Cierra Carter connected on a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to give the Paladins a 62-61 lead, the Bears turned to their top scorer for the decisive jump shot, a 12-footer from the right side, that put Mercer up 63-62.  Furman's Kelsey Ellis missed a 3-point shot from the corner with four seconds to go, and the Bears claimed the rebound and added a free throw for the game's final point.

Furman held leads at the end of the first three quarters but the contest was close from start to finish with seven ties and 13 lead changes.  The Paladins twice led by three in the fourth quarter and went up for the final time, 62-61, on Carter's 3-pointer before Lawrence hit the game winner.

Lawrence finished the game hitting on 16-of-29 shots, and a pair of 3-pointers for her 34 points.  KeKe Calloway was the only other Mercer player to tally double figures with 10 points.

Carter paced four double figure scoring performances by Furman, tallying 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  The sophomore forward hits on 3-of-5 treys and 3-of-4 free throws.  Kelsey Ellis converted 5-of-11 3-point attempts on the way to 15 points, and Holli Wilkins registered 14 points and eight rebounds.  Whitney Bunn finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The Paladins' solid 3-point shooting (10-for-26, 38.5%) and 41-29 rebounding advantage almost canceled out 22 turnovers that Mercer used to post a 19-10 scoring advantage off the miscues.

Furman (13-14, 7-7 SoCon) will carry the No. 5 seed into next week's Southern Conference Tournament and face No. 4 seed East Tennessee State on Thursday, March 3, at 1:45 p.m. at Asheville's U.S. Cellular Center.

Mercer (22-7, 12-2 SoCon) claimed a share of the regular season championship with Chattanooga and will enter SoCon Tournament play as the No. 1 seed.

Hunter Reid, Furman Sports Information