SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer’s Kahlia Lawrence has been named the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played Feb. 21-25, the conference announced Monday.
Lawrence led a Bears comeback effort in a 76-68 win over Samford on Saturday in which the Bears captured their second consecutive SoCon regular season championship. The Columbus, Georgia, native, who is also the SoCon’s top scorer in conference matchups (18.9 ppg), scored a game-high 31 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter to propel the Bears to victory after trailing the Bulldogs by 12 points with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter. Lawrence made 10 of her 14 attempts from the field (71.4 percent) and, coincidentally, was 10-of-14 from the charity stripe. Lawrence’s 10 made free-throws tied her career-high.
In the Bears’ win over Samford, Lawrence tallied her third 30-point performance of the season and second in SoCon play. The junior guard also added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and played all 40 minutes in the Bears’ 23rd win of the season.
Mercer (23-5, 12-2 SoCon) will enter this week’s upcoming Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina, on a six-game winning streak. The second-seeded Bears will take on No. 7 Wofford (13-16, 3-11 SoCon) on Thursday, March 2 at 4 p.m. (ET), which will air on ESPN3.
Other top performers in the Southern Conference included: Tianna Tarter (ETSU), Bailey Williams (UNCG), Hannah Nichols (Samford), Jasmine Joyner (Chattanooga), Tess Harris (Western Carolina) and Chloe Wanink (Wofford).
SoCon Women’s Basketball Players of the Week
Nov. 15 – Sherae Bonner, Western Carolina
Nov. 22 – Kahlia Lawrence, Mercer
Nov. 29 – Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Dec. 6 – Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Dec. 13 – Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Dec. 20 – Chloe Wanink, Wofford
Jan. 3 – Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Jan. 10 – Jasmine Joyner, Chattanooga
Jan. 17 – Kahlia Lawrence, Mercer
Jan. 24 – Shamauria Bridges, ETSU
Jan 31 – Tianna Tarter, ETSU
Feb. 7 – Raziyah Farrington, Western Carolina
Feb. 14 – Jasmine Joyner, Chattanooga
Feb. 21 – Jasmine Joyner, Chattanooga
Feb. 27 – Kahlia Lawrence, Mercer
- www.SoConSports.com -