The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team lost 65-56 to Southern Conference-leading Mercer Thursday night at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
UTC (16-11, 7-6) will finish the regular season Saturday at Samford.
UTC guard Brooke Burns (23) reigns in a rebound during the Lady Mocs home basketball game against Furman University at McKenzie Arena on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. 
UTC's Mya Long (3) drives to the basket past Mercer's Kahlia Lawrence (24). The Mercer Bears visited the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference women's basketball action at McKenzie Arena on January 27, 2018.The Mocs faced Mercer without Keiana Gilbert after the team's leading scorer this season injured an ankle during practice this week. At times they played against the SoCon regular-season champions with three freshmen and a sophomore on the court but were able to hang with the Bears (26-2, 13-0), who are No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.
UTC last led 46-45 on a layup by Brooke Burns with 7:18 to play, but the veteran Bears - who play nothing but juniors and seniors - pulled away with a 7-0 run.
After the Mocs pulled within 58-56 on a 3-pointer by Mya Long with 1:23 to play, Kahlia Lawrence - the SoCon player of the year the past two seasons - hit a jump shot, and Alex Williams then stole a Long pass and drove in for a left-handed layup to put the game away.
The Mocs were led by freshmen Burns and Long, who took 32 of the team's 51 shots and combined for 36 of UTC's points. Burns was 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and her 21 points and 40 minutes were season highs. Long had 15 points and four rebounds.
UTC redshirt sophomore forward Arianne Whitaker just missed out on a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds, while senior Aryanna Gilbert had seven points and eight rebounds.
"This whole season has been to get the young players to play the way we needed them to," Foster said on the postgame radio broadcast. "We're trying to hold them accountable.
"We decided to do things differently. I think in the long run, it's going to pay off."
The Bears finished with 19 fast-break points and 17 points off 16 UTC turnovers.
Lawrence scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. KeKe Calloway had 20 points, while Sydni Means had 12 assists.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.