# 2023–24 Mercer Bears women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Mercer Bears women's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears, who were led by 14th-year head coach Susie Gardner, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as members of the Southern Conference. On March 9, 2024, head coach Susie Gardner announced her resignation, after 14 years with the team.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2022–23 season 12–16, 8–6 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They were defeated by UNC Greensboro in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | L 64–70 | 0–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,387) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 9, 2023* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | W 70–62 | 1–1 | Hawkins Arena (934) Macon, GA |
| November 12, 2023* 2:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Clemson | L 66–90 | 1–2 | Littlejohn Coliseum (822) Clemson, SC |
| November 16, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia | L 57–77 | 1–3 | Hawkins Arena (2,372) Macon, GA |
| November 19, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tulane | L 58–64 | 1–4 | Hawkins Arena (607) Macon, GA |
| November 22, 2023* 12:00 pm | | vs. Bowling Green Savannah Hoops Invitational | L 38–59 | 1–5 | Enmarket Arena (123) Savannah, GA |
| November 23, 2023* 11:30 am | | vs. Marist Savannah Hoops Invitational | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 2–5 | Enmarket Arena (84) Savannah, GA |
| November 25, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | L 53–66 | 2–6 | Buccaneer Field House (102) North Charleston, SC |
| November 29, 2023* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 58–65 | 2–7 | Dale F. Halton Arena (733) Charlotte, NC |
| December 2, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 78–75 $^{2OT}$ | 3–7 | Hawkins Arena (574) Macon, GA |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Georgia Tech | L 60–73 | 3–8 | McCamish Pavilion (1,353) Atlanta, GA |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at North Carolina A&T | W 55–52 | 4–8 | Corbett Sports Center (1,054) Greensboro, NC |
| December 17, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 74–63 | 5–8 | Hawkins Arena (63) Macon, GA |
| December 21, 2023* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | L 78–81 | 5–9 | Holmes Center (196) Boone, NC |
| December 30, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bethune–Cookman | L 58–60 | 5–10 | Hawkins Arena (513) Macon, GA |
| January 2, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 70–54 | 6–10 | Hawkins Arena (483) Macon, GA |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 57–66 | 6–11 (0–1) | McKenzie Arena (1,446) Chattanooga, TN |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | L 71–77 | 6–12 (0–2) | Brooks Gymnasium (561) Johnson City, TN |
| January 18, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | W 76–52 | 7–12 (1–2) | Hawkins Arena (753) Macon, GA |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 78–44 | 8–12 (2–2) | Hawkins Arena (607) Macon, GA |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 64–65 | 8–13 (2–3) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (414) Spartanburg, SC |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 56–58 | 8–14 (2–4) | Timmons Arena (518) Greenville, SC |
| February 3, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Samford | W 87–59 | 9–14 (3–4) | Pete Hanna Center (312) Homewood, AL |
| February 8, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 65–57 | 10–14 (4–4) | Hawkins Arena (618) Macon, GA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 52–61 | 10–15 (4–5) | Hawkins Arena (1,627) Macon, GA |
| February 15, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | W 76–62 | 11–15 (5–5) | Ramsey Center (642) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 49–69 | 11–16 (5–6) | Fleming Gymnasium (396) Greensboro, NC |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | W 55–50 | 12–16 (6–6) | Hawkins Arena (473) Macon, GA |
| February 24, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 79–74 | 13–16 (7–6) | Hawkins Arena (1,272) Macon, GA |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | W 76–69 | 14–16 (8–6) | Hawkins Arena (1,072) Macon, GA |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2024 5:45 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) East Tennessee State Quarterfinals | W 67–52 | 15–16 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,029) Asheville, NC |
| March 8, 2024 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (1) Chattanooga Semifinals | L 55–66 | 15–17 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (–) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources: