Mercer (4-3) was led on the boards by Alex Williams, who pulled down eight rebounds and added two points and a season-high-tying three steals, while Teanna Robinson tallied six rebounds, three points and a block.

Alicia Williams notched eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Bears, and Lawrence also dished out three baskets-to-be. Bridges’ 13 points were buoyed by her 6-of-6 effort at the charity stripe, and she also had three takeaways on the night.

The Lady Bulldogs (9-0) came out strong to start the second half, working their way to a 53-27 lead with 13:58 left in the game. A three-point play by Robinson at 13:33 sparked a 12-2 Mercer run that cut Georgia’s lead to 55-39 with 7:57 on the clock.

The teams traded baskets for the final minutes of the game, and the Bears kept the Lady Bulldogs on their toes the whole time. Mercer used a late run to put the score at 63-49 with just 40 seconds left, but Georgia scored five quick points to work its way to a final score of 68-49.

Mercer kept Georgia in check for the first 9:25 of the game, never allowing the Lady Bulldogs to lead by more than seven and keeping them within four for most of the time.

With 11:14 left in the first half, Georgia went on an 8-0 spurt that lasted 2:52 and gave it a 23-11 lead. Mercer answered with five quick points to cut Georgia’s advantage to 23-16 with 6:53 on the clock.

The Lady Bulldogs used a 17-4 run over 5:32 to take a 42-20 lead with 1:09 left in the first half. The Bears scored the final five points of the period to put the score at 42-25 for intermission.

Mercer shot 35.6 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent in the first half, while Georgia connected on 46.8 percent of its field goals. The Lady Bulldogs barely edged the Bears in rebounds, 33-30, but were able to win the turnover battle, 15-23.

Next up, Mercer will travel to Statesboro, Ga., on Saturday to take on Georgia Southern at 4:30 p.m.