HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters tip-off the 2014-15 campaign and initiate the Krystal Evans era this weekend as they travel to Jefferson City, Tenn. for the South Atlantic Conference vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge. Lincoln Memorial is set to invade Carson-Newman University's Holt Fieldhouse for a pair of regional battles, squaring off against Lander in the season opener on Saturday, November 15 before culminating the weekend against USC Aiken on Sunday afternoon.  
 
Saturday's tilt with Lander marks the first meeting between the Lady Railsplitters and Bearcats since the 2011-12 season, when a then 15th-ranked Lander squad bashed LMU 85-66. The two teams have only one meeting prior to that as the Bearcats earned a decisive 76-48 victory in Morrow Ga. in December, 2010.
 
The Bearcats arrive in Harrogate looking to bounce back from a disappointing 12-17 record and fifth-place Peach Belt Conference finish in 2013-14. Despite earning three first-place votes in the league's preseason coaches' poll, trailing only Columbus State and Georgia College in that department, the Bearcats were tabbed for a seventh-place PBC finish in 2014-15.
 
Last season, the Bearcats' up-tempo style accounted for 65.3 shot attempts per contest, but they were limited to a league-low 37.5 shooting percentage. Lander also attempted the most three-pointers per game of any PBC program, hoisting up an average of 19.8 with 5.9 makes per outing. Defensively, the Bearcats yielded an average of 70.9 points per contest on 42.5 percent shooting.
 
In spite of that, expectations remain high for the Bearcats as they return each of their top three scorers from a season ago while their 2012-13 team MVP, Aarika Judge, returns after missing nearly all of last season due to an injury. Senior guard Kayla West leads Lander into the 2014-15 campaign after compiling 14.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season. Sophomore guard Ty'Hesha Reynolds looks to build on a stellar freshman campaign in which she posted 12.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. On the block, senior Portia McCray is expected to carry the load as she poured in 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season. Aarika Judge appeared in only two games before an injury cut her season short in 2013-14, but she accounted for 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game back in the 2012-13 campaign.
 
In the second game of the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge, the Lady Railsplitters are scheduled to clash with the USC Aiken Pacers for the first time in over a decade. LMU and USC Aiken played a home and home series against each other during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, with the Pacers winning 85-66 in Aiken, S.C. on the first go-around and the Lady Railsplitters returning the favor with a 77-68 win in Harrogate, Tenn.
 
The 2013-14 campaign carried the Pacers into unfamiliar territory as they snapped a streak of three consecutive 20 win seasons and NCAA Southeast Regional semifinal appearances by falling to 11-18 overall. Despite leading the PBC in three-pointers made per game with 6.3 and three-point field-goal percentage with a 33.3 percent clip, USC Aiken sputtered on offense with 62.9 points per contest. Opponents, meanwhile, manufactured 65.9 points per contest. The Pacers were selected to finish sixth in the PBC this season as they earned one first-place vote in the preseason coaches' poll.
 
USC Aiken returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, headlined by senior guard Mackenzie Reese, who accounted for 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during her junior campaign. Junior Mariah Durian also returns after pitching in 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest last season. Sophomore guard Amaura Brandt chipped in 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game. Brandt racked up a team-high 24 points in a 81-67 exhibition loss to the College of Charleston on November 6.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are looking to build on a resurgent 2013-14 season in which they collected the most wins for the program since the 2003-04 campaign (16) and the highest league finish since 2006 (3rd). Lincoln Memorial returns three of its top four scorers from that season in seniors Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.), Samantha Satterlee (Junction City, Kan.) and Katrina Ottesen (Chandler, Ariz.). Lee paced the Lady Railsplitters with 15.2 points per game, earning All-SAC first team laurels for that effort, while Satterlee poured in 9.3 points per outing. Ottesen knocked down a team-leading 48 three-pointers and racked up 8.1 points per game.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are entering their first season under the direction of Krystal Evans, who was selected as the 16th coach in program history in June.    
 
The Lady Railsplitters tip off in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge in Jefferson City, Tenn. on Saturday, November 15 at 5 p.m. against Lander. Lincoln Memorial wraps up the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m. against USC Aiken. Video and live stats will be available at www.cneagles.com/live.