MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women’s basketball team made history Tuesday, cracking the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll for the first time in its NCAA Division I era. The Bears checked in as the 25th-ranked squad with a 25-2 overall record after knocking on the door for the last six weeks.

The USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll began in 1992-93 after USA Today and CNN took over publishing the coaches’ basketball poll for United Press International (UPI) which had ranked Top 20 teams on a weekly basis from 1950-1990.

Mercer is fresh off a two-game road trip in which it earned wins over Western Carolina (53-46) and UNCG (57-54). With the win over the Spartans, Mercer claimed at least a share of its third consecutive Southern Conference Regular Season title in just its fourth year as a member of the league.

The Bears are amidst a 22-game win streak, marking the fourth-longest active winning streak in the NCAA behind Mississippi State (28), UConn (26) and Baylor (23). Mercer is also the first SoCon team to be ranked inside the Top 25 since Chattanooga in 2015.

Mercer is led in scoring by two-time SoCon Player of the Year, Kahlia Lawrence, who is averaging 18.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Bears have also received a boost from junior guard KeKe Calloway with 17.3 points. Sydni Means paces the squad in assists per game (8.1), while Amanda Thompson leads the team in rebounds per game (6.6).

The Bears have two regular season tilts left against Chattanooga and ETSU and will look to capture their first-ever outright SoCon Regular Season Championship with a win. Thursday’s showdown against Chattanooga will tip off at 7 p.m., while the Bears looming contest with ETSU will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. and will serve as Senior Day.