GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's women's basketball team is set to return to action following a seven-day hiatus when it hits the road for a pair of challenging Southern Conference clashes, taking on Mercer in Macon, Ga., on Thursday before facing Samford in a Saturday clash in Birmingham, Ala.

Tipoff for Thursday's game at the Bears' Hawkins Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  Saturday's contest is a 3:00 p.m. ET start at Samford's Pete Hanna Center.

Both contests will be live streamed via ESPN+ and include StatBroadcast live stats.

Furman (8-8, 1-1 SoCon) dropped a 74-69 home decision to Wofford on Jan. 13 in its last outing.

Mercer (11-5, 4-0 SoCon), the reigning SoCon Tournament champion, enters Thursday's contest riding a four-game winning streak, which the Bears have fashioned following a stretch of four canceled/postponed outings. Mercer took down East Tennessee State, 66-54, on Monday in Macon.

Samford (7-10, 2-1 SoCon), last season's regular season champion, opened its league slate with an overtime loss to Chattanooga but has bounced back with two wins, the most recent coming on the road in the form of a 62-57 triumph over UNC  Greensboro.

The Paladins have had their recent struggles against both Mercer and Samford, winning just one of their last 16 clashes against the Bears and the last three contests versus the Bulldogs.  Overall Furman is just 5-20 all-time against Mercer but has been more competitive versus Samford, evidenced in a 13-17 series slate.

Fifth-year senior forward Tierra Hodges (16.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg), the SoCon's second leading scorer and top rebounder, headlines the Paladins' attack.  The Covington, Ga., product, who has fashioned five consecutive double-doubles, part of 10 she has posted this season, registered 24 points and 12 rebounds against Wofford.  She has moved into second place on Furman's all-time rebounding ledger with 1,086, just 16 caroms shy of the school standard held by Natalie Cleckley (1,102 rebounds, 1988-91).  Hodges also ranks 12th in career scoring with 1,368 points, 15 shy of former teammate Cierra Carter (1,383 points, 2015-18), who is 11th.

Furman will hope to take the court with a full squad against Mercer after forcing to contend against Wofford without the squad's second leading scorer, sophomore guard Tate Walters (13.3 ppg), who also tops the team in assists (50) and steals (25).

Senior forward Grace van Rij has fashioned impressive strides this year and has contributed 51 points in her last four games.