Macon, Ga. – The Furman women's basketball team wrapped up a three-game conference road trip on Saturday afternoon dropping a 61-55 decision to the Mercer Bears inside Hawkins Arena.

Furman falls to 15-9 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon while Mercer improves to 6-18 on the season and 3-6 in conference play.

Tierra Hodges recorded her team-leading 12^th double-double of the season to lead the Paladins with 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Grace van Rij grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to go with eight points. Greyson Boone, Lindsey Taylor and Celena Taborn all came off the bench to score eight points. Milica Manojlovic dished out six assists.

Jaron Dougherty led the Bears with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Amoria Neal-Tysor tied for the team-lead with 17 points while Jill Harris contributed 12 points and four assists. Shannon Titus added eight blocks.

Furman used a 9-4 run to start the second half to build a 34-24 lead, its largest of the game, with 4:32 remaining on Taborn's layup. Mercer followed with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to go ahead 35-34 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. Boone's layup the following possession put the Paladins back in front by one, 36-35, heading to the final period.

Taylor gave the Paladins a 38-37 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter with her layup. The Bears then proceeded to go on a 14-7 run during a stretch of nearly five minutes to go in front 51-45 at the 2:43 mark. Furman got as close as four points three times in the final three minutes but Mercer scored its final six points at the free throw line to secure the 57-53 victory.

The opening quarter was low scoring with both teams combining for just 20 points on 10-of-26 shooting. The Bears led by as many as four points five times in the first quarter with the last, 12-8, coming on a layup with 39 seconds to go.

Mercer pushed its lead out to six points in the second quarter as Summer Pahl's jumper with 6:11 remaining put the score at 16-10. The Paladins closed out the half on a 15-4 run and held a 25-20 lead at intermission capped by Hodges' jumper with 14 seconds left.

Furman concluded the game shooting 32.9 percent (24-of-73) from the field and held a 46-42 advantage in rebounds. The Paladins also led in points in the paint (34-24), second chance points (13-4) and bench points (24-2).

Furman returns home on Thursday, February 13 to host Chattanooga at 7 p.m.