2024–25 Mercer Bears women's basketball team

2024–25 Mercer Bears women's basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record8–22 (3–11 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Michael Morgan
  • Blessing Freeman
  • Elizabeth Metress
  • Darrius "Zeke" Mazyck
Home arenaHawkins Arena
2024–25 Southern Conference women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UNC Greensboro † 13 – 1   .929 25 – 7   .781
Chattanooga 9 – 5   .643 17 – 15   .531
East Tennessee State 8 – 6   .571 17 – 13   .567
Wofford 8 – 6   .571 17 – 12   .586
Samford 7 – 7   .500 12 – 19   .387
Furman 5 – 9   .357 16 – 16   .500
3 – 11   .214 8 – 22   .267
Western Carolina 3 – 11   .214 13 – 17   .433
† 2025 SoCon tournament winner

The 2024–25 Mercer Bears women's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears, who were led by first-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2023–24 season 15–17, 8–6 in SoCon play, to finish in a three-way tie for second place.[1] They defeated East Tennessee State,[2] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions Chattanooga in the semifinals of the SoCon tournament.[3]

On March 9, 2024, head coach Susie Gardner announced her resignation, ending her 14-year tenure with the team.[4] On March 23, the school announced that they would be hiring Mississippi State assistant and former Cincinnati head coach Michelle Clark-Heard as Gardner's successor.[5]

Preseason

On October 16, 2024, the SoCon released their preseason coaches poll. Mercer was picked to finish seventh in the SoCon regular season.[6]

Preseason rankings

SoCon preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Wofford 49 (7)
2 UNC Greensboro 42 (1)
T-3 Furman 31
Samford
5 East Tennessee State 25
6 Chattanooga 23
7 Mercer 13
8 Western Carolina 10

Source:[6]

Preseason All-SoCon Team

No Bears were named to the Preseason All-SoCon team.[6]

Roster

2024–25 Mercer Bears women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 2 Ariana Bennett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Southwestern Illinois College Edwardsville, Illinois
G 5 Jania Akins 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Norcross High School Chicago, Illinois
G 7 Aliyah Collins 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Jr Incarnate Word College Station, Texas
G 8 Ioanna Stefanaki 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Fr Idaho State Crete, Greece
G 9 Nahawa Diarra 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr New Mexico Barcelona, Spain
G 11 Stephanie Utomi 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Arbor Preparatory High School Detroit, Michigan
G 12 Kayla Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Prairie View A&M Lakeland, Florida
F 16 Astrid Mukulumpe 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Lycée Marguerite de Flandre Orléans, France
F 21 Chelsy Bautista 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Odessa College Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
F 23 Ashlee Locke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Flowery Branch High School Flowery Branch, Georgia
G 24 Stacy Utomi 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Arbor Preparatory High School Detroit, Michigan
G 25 Talia Harris 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Fishers High School Fishers, Indiana
F 41 Zenia Palaska 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Vermont Athens, Greece
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: May 23, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2024*
7:00 pm 		Young Harris W 61–28  –
 Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UNC Asheville W 75–52  1–0
 Hawkins Arena (727)
Macon, GA
November 9, 2024*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Florida Atlantic L 48–58  1–1
 Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (774)
Boca Raton, FL
November 12, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Kentucky L 54–78  1–2
 Hawkins Arena (358)
Macon, GA
November 17, 2024*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		North Carolina A&T W 46–38  2–2
 Hawkins Arena (419)
Macon, GA
November 20, 2024*
7:30 pm, SECN+ 		at Mississippi State L 44–81  2–3
 Humphrey Coliseum (4,003)
Starkville, MS
November 22, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Charleston Southern W 59–48  3–3
 Hawkins Arena (498)
Macon, GA
November 24, 2024*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Austin Peay L 53–66  3–4
 F&M Bank Arena 
Clarksville, TN
November 27, 2024*
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville L 49–74  3–5
 Swisher Gymnasium (350)
Jacksonville, FL
November 30, 2024*
2:00 pm 		at Bethune–Cookman W 70–64  4–5
 Moore Gymnasium (222)
Daytona Beach, FL
December 5, 2024*
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		Charlotte L 42–43  4–6
 Hawkins Arena (931)
Macon, GA
December 8, 2024*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Georgia Tech L 42–78  4–7
 Hawkins Arena (519)
Macon, GA
December 15, 2024*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Tulane L 46–73  4–8
 Devlin Fieldhouse (716)
New Orleans, LA
December 19, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Jackson State L 54–66  4–9
 Hawkins Arena (419)
Macon, GA
December 21, 2024*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Appalachian State L 61–74  4–10
 Hawkins Arena (319)
Macon, GA
December 30, 2024*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Kennesaw State W 62–59  5–10
 KSU Convocation Center (710)
Kennesaw, GA
SoCon regular season
January 11, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Samford W 56–53  6–10
(1–0) 		Hawkins Arena (619)
Macon, GA
January 16, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at East Tennessee State L 46–70  6–11
(1–1) 		Brooks Gymnasium (283)
Johnson City, TN
January 18, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Chattanooga L 37–60  6–12
(1–2) 		McKenzie Arena (1,511)
Chattanooga, TN
January 23, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Wofford L 51–61  6–13
(1–3) 		Hawkins Arena (1,583)
Macon, GA
January 25, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Furman L 47–57  6–14
(1–4) 		Hawkins Arena (1,619)
Macon, GA
January 30, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UNC Greensboro L 37–70  6–15
(1–5) 		Fleming Gymnasium (368)
Greensboro, NC
February 1, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Western Carolina W 71–66  7–15
(2–5) 		Ramsey Center (764)
Cullowhee, NC
February 8, 2025
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Samford L 49–65  7–16
(2–6) 		Pete Hanna Center (378)
Homewood, AL
February 13, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Chattanooga L 39–69  7–17
(2–7) 		Hawkins Arena (1,754)
Macon, GA
February 15, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		East Tennessee State L 67–70  7–18
(2–8) 		Hawkins Arena (1,549)
Macon, GA
February 20, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Furman L 70–72  7–19
(2–9) 		Hayes Gym (411)
Tigerville, SC
February 22, 2025
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Wofford L 64–65  7–20
(2–10) 		Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (713)
Spartanburg, SC
February 27, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Carolina W 51–49  8–20
(3–10) 		Hawkins Arena (1,366)
Macon, GA
March 1, 2025
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UNC Greensboro L 37–76  8–21
(3–11) 		Hawkins Arena (1,733)
Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
March 6, 2025
1:30 pm, ESPN+ 		(7) vs. (2) Chattanooga
Quarterfinals 		L 47–68  8–22
 Harrah's Cherokee Center 
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "Women's Basketball - 2023-24 Standings". SoCon. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  2. ^ "Strong Second Half Lifts No. 4 Mercer Past No. 5 ETSU". WJHL. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  3. ^ "Guinn Leads UTC To SoCon Women's Championship". The Chattanoogan. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  4. ^ "Susie Gardner resigns as Mercer women's head basketball coach". 13wmaz.com. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "Mississippi State assistant coach Michelle Clark-Heard named head coach at Mercer". The Dispatch. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "SoCon women's basketball polls and preseason team announced". SoCon. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  7. ^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  8. ^ "Mercer Bears 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
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