HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (1-1) will make their Tex Turner Arena debut and open up South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday, November 19, hosting the Mars Hill Lions in a contest scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Lincoln Memorial aims to avenge a loss to the Lions in last season's home match-up as Mars Hill escaped Harrogate with a 69-66 win on January 22. The Lady Railsplitters hold a 12-9 edge in the all-time series, but the Lions have won two of the last three meetings in Tex Turner Arena as they also nabbed an 89-81 win in January, 2012.
In the first weekend of the 2014-15 campaign and the
Krystal Evans era, the Lady Railsplitters finished 1-1 in the SAC vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge, which was hosted by Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn. In Saturday's season opener, the Lady Railsplitters rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to defeat the Lander Bearcats 76-72. Lincoln Memorial pulled down the second-most rebounds in a single game in program history, destroying Lander 62-27 on the glass. The Lady Railsplitters also shot 45.6 percent from the field, a number that they surpassed only five times in 27 tries last season. Sunday's contest was an inverse of Saturday, though, as the Lady Railsplitters established a 12-point lead over USC Aiken with under 10 minutes to play before the Pacers rallied for a 77-70 victory. The Lady Railsplitters finished 25-for-50 from two-point range in that contest, but a 1-for-16 effort from beyond the three-point arc and 25 turnovers ultimately proved to be too much to overcome.
Despite Sunday's disappointing loss, the Lady Railsplitters concluded the opening weekend of play ranked first in the SAC in field goals per game (28.5), second in points per game (73.0), second in field goal percentage (42.5 percent) and second in total rebounds per contest (55.0). As it currently stands, the Lady Railsplitters are averaging seven more points and six more shot attempts per contest than they did during last season's resurgent run to a third-place SAC finish.
Junior guard
Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) led LMU in scoring in both contests this past weekend, as she poured in 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting with eight assists in Saturday's win over Lander before logging 17 points, five assists and a pair of steals on Sunday. Rawls is currently second in the South Atlantic Conference in points per and field goal percentage. Another newcomer, graduate student
Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) nearly recorded back-to-back double-doubles last weekend, instead settling for a 10 point, 11 rebound performance Saturday and a 16 point, eight rebound outing on Sunday. The 6-5 center combined for nine blocks in the two-game stretch. Senior
Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) also reached double-figures twice as she notched 11 points against Lander with 14 points versus USC Aiken. Smith was not the only Lady Railsplitter to record a double-double in the win over Lander, as sophomore
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) notched 12 points and 14 boards in her debut in the Blue and Gray.
The Mars Hill Lions enter Wednesday's contest holding an identical 1-1 mark, as they dropped their season opener to King 74-58 before bouncing back with a 64-56 win over Lees-McRae. Despite averaging 66 shot attempts per contest, the Lions are ranked near the bottom of the SAC in both points per game (61.0) and field goal percentage (32.6). Nearly a third of the Lions' shot attempts are three-pointers as they averaged 20 tries from long range through the first two games of the season, connecting on 22.5 percent of those attempts. Defensively, Mars Hill has allowed an average of 65 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting.
Sophomore guard Paige Chavis is leading the Lions in scoring at 12.5 points per contest, while junior guard Camille Glymph is contributing 11 points per appearance. Candence Wilmoth and Genice Lane provide a large portion of the rebounding as Wilmoth is securing 10 boards per game to go alongside Lane's 9.5. Behind Wilmoth and Lane, the Lions rank fourth in the SAC with 47 rebounds per contest. Wilmoth is also pitching in nine points per game, while Lane is averaging 8.5.
The Lady Railsplitters are 2-6 in South Atlantic Conference openers since joining the league prior to the 2006-07 campaign, but the Lions were one of th0se two victims as LMU knocked off Mars Hill in last season's SAC lid lifter 75-54. Following Wednesday's contest, the Lady Railsplitters hit the road for their next two league bouts, traveling to Queens on Saturday and Anderson next Tuesday.
Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill is set for 6 p.m. at Tex Turner Arena. The LMU Sports Network will be providing a free, HD broadcast of the contest with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45.
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