MACON, GA. -- Erin Houpt scored 14 points to propel Mercer to the 56-42 win over Furman in Southern Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.

Houpt, a sophomore guard, tallied 11 of her game high 14 points in the first half, converting 3-of-5 3-pointers over the game's first 20 minutes, to send Mercer (8-12, 4-3 SoCo) into intermission with a 35-20 lead.

The closest Furman (9-13, 1-6 SoCon) could get in the second half was 38-27 in the third quarter following a 7-0 run, but an Ashlee Locke layup blunted the rally.

The Paladins were paced by Grace van Rij with 10 points and six rebounds.

Furman made just 13-of-40 shots in the game (32.5%) while Mercer connected on 21-of-53 attempts from the field (39.6%).  The Bears, who entered the game as the SoCon leader in 3-point shooting, connected on 6-of-14 treys (42.9%).

Enjulina Gonzalez chipped in 13 points for Mercer.

The loss was the fourth straight for Furman, which returns home to take on Wofford in a 3:00 p.m. contest next Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.