JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (1-0) turned a 12-point first-half deficit into a 76-72 win over the Lander Bearcats (0-1) to open the 2014-15 campaign and the Krystal Evans era in style on Saturday evening in Jefferson City, Tenn.
 
Junior Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) carried the Lincoln Memorial offensive attack as she poured in a game-high 24 points, connecting on 10 of her 13 shot attempts while leading all players with eight assists. Sophomore Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) pitched in 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go alongside a game-high 14 rebounds. Senior Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) contributed 11 points and seven boards in 27 minutes off the bench, while graduate student Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) factored into the decision with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in just 22 minutes of work. Senior Katrina Ottesen (Chandler, Ariz.) collected seven points on a 3-for-4 effort.
 
Behind both Pittman and Smith, the Lady Railsplitters absolutely demolished the Bearcats on the boards, accumulating a 62-27 rebounding edge. The 62 total rebounds are the second-most in a single game in program history, falling only one shy of tying the record of 63 set during the 1985-86 season. No Lady Railsplitter squad has grabbed 60 or more rebounds in a contest since 2003. Lincoln Memorial grabbed 27 offensive rebounds which were converted into 17 second-chance points. The Lady Railsplitters also dominated scoring on the interior as they racked up a 46-22 advantage on points in the paint.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished shooting 45.6 percent from the field, draining 31 of their 68 shot attempts, but a dismal effort at the free throw line nearly proved costly. Lincoln Memorial posted a 38.5 percent mark at the charity stripe, converting only 10 of their 26 tries. The Lady Railsplitters were nearly as efficient from behind the three-point arc, where they were 4-for-12 (33.3 percent).
 
The Lady Railsplitters stormed out to a 7-0 lead following buckets by Pittman and Rawls and a three-pointer by Ottesen at the 18:10 mark. A three and a free throw by Aarika Judge cut the deficit to 9-7, but a jumper by Smith extended the LMU lead back to 14-7 with 16:30 left in the half. From there, the Bearcats ripped off a 12-4 run, capped by a Portia McCray freebie to take the lead at 19-18 with 13:16 remaining. The game remained tight over the ensuing passage of play, as Rawls put the Lady Railsplitters in front 22-21 with a jumper at the 11:55 mark. But, Lander used a 17-4 run over the next 5:41 of game clock to assume the largest lead of the contest at 38-26. LMU steadily chipped away at the deficit before the half ended as Lakeisha Beasley (College Park, Ga.), Rawls and Pittman scored successive baskets to cut it to 42-38. Two more free throws by McCray sent the two teams into the half with the Lady Railsplitters trailing 44-38.
 
Lincoln Memorial continued to chase the Bearcats for most of the early portion of the second half until a bucket by Rawls evened the score at 54-54 with 14:08 left in regulation. Lander responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to regain a six-point edge at 60-54. A three-ball by Kayla West at the 8:45 clip pushed Lander in front 63-59, but buckets by Beasley, Rawls and Pittman paced a 6-0 flurry that gave the Lady Railsplitters their first lead of the second half at 65-63. Over the final six minutes of regulation, there were four ties and four leads changes, but it was the Lady Railsplitters who found themselves on the winning end of the final swing. Ty'hesha Reynolds laid it in with 1:10 left to put Lander in front 72-70, but LMU closed the game on a 6-0 run. Pittman collected the game-tying score, while Rawls nailed down the eventual game-winner as well as two free throws in the closing seconds to ice the contest.
 
The Lady Railsplitters limited the Bearcats to 36.6 percent shooting in the contest, as Lander finished 26-for-71 from the field and 8-for-25 from beyond the three-point arc. Aarika Judge led Lander with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting, while Ty'hesha Reynolds contributed nine points and five assists in 24 minutes. Bre Crum and Kayla West added eight points apiece.
 
Saturday marked LMU's first win over Lander, who throttled the Lady Railsplitters in the two previous meetings. The Bearcats bested the Lady Railsplitters 85-66 in 2011 and 76-48 in 2010.
 
The win was also the first collegiate head coaching victory for Krystal Evans, who was selected as the 16th coach in the history of the Lincoln Memorial women's basketball program in June.
 
The Lady Railsplitters conclude the SAC vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge on Sunday afternoon, as they square off against the USC Aiken Pacers inside of Carson-Newman University's Holt Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.