HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Contrasting styles will collide on Saturday, November 22 as the Lady Railsplitters (2-1, 1-0 SAC) travel to Charlotte, N.C. for a South Atlantic Conference contest against the Queens Royals (0-3, 0-1 SAC). Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Levine Center.
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Lincoln Memorial is coming off of its most explosive offensive performance in four seasons, as the Lady Railsplitters captured a 100-90 victory over the Mars Hill Lions on Wednesday in the SAC and Tex Turner Arena opener. It was LMU's first 100-point performance since a 100-77 win over Southern Arkansas in the 2010-11 season lid lifter. The Lady Railsplitters put five players in double figures and finished shooting 50 percent from the field, as they became the first team in the SAC to put 100 points on the board this season. But, they also became the first team in the SAC to allow its opponent to rack up 90 points in a single game as Mars Hill also shot 50 percent from the field with two players combining for 55 points alone.
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Three games into the season, the Lady Railsplitters are showing immediate results from the freedom instilled in
Krystal Evans's offensive system, as they are ranked first in the league in points per game (82.0), field goals per game (32.3) and field goal attempts per game (71.3) while ranking second in overall field goal percentage with a 45.3 percent mark. LMU is, however, allowing its opponents to score an average of 79.7 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting. Those numbers have been offset by the Lady Railsplitters' league-leading rebounding margin of plus 23 per contest.
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Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) and
Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) lead the Lady Railsplitters in scoring, as Rawls is accounting for 18.7 points and six assists per game to go alongside Smith's 14 points and 8.7 rebounds per. Rawls and Smith accounted for 31 total points in the second half of LMU's win over Mars Hill Wednesday.
Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) is chipping in 13 points per game, while
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) is contributing nine points and 11.3 rebounds (second in the SAC) per contest.Â
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Still looking for their first win, the Queens Royals enter Saturday's contest carrying the No.1 scoring defense in the league as they have allowed their opponents to score just 59 points per game. Those numbers might be more indicative of Queens' offensive pacing then their defensive prowess, though, as the Royals are near the bottom of the league in points per game (44.3), field goals per game (15.7), field goal attempts per game (42.7) and three-point tries per (9.3). Queens has yet to shoot better than 40 percent in a single game this season.
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Senior forward Lacey Singletary leads the Royals with 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest, while classmate Abby Pettit is pitching in eight points and five rebounds per appearance. Freshman Sheridan Pressley is the only additional Royal with more than six points per game as she is scoring 6.3 points in 15.7 minutes per outing.
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The Lady Railsplitters are riding a streak of five consecutive wins over the Royals, which dates back to the 1995-96 campaign. Queens joined the South Atlantic Conference as full-time members prior to the 2013-14 campaign, and the Lady Railsplitters swept the regular season series, earning 58-36 and 66-61 triumphs.
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Lincoln Memorial is looking to start 2-0 in SAC play for the second consecutive season after failing to accomplish that feat in any of its first seven seasons in the league. The Lady Railsplitters started 3-0 in league play last season in route to a program-best 15 SAC wins and a third-place regular season finish.
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The Lady Railsplitters and Royals are set for a 2 p.m. tip Saturday at the Levine Center in Charlotte, N.C. Both live stats and a video broadcast will be available for that South Atlantic Conference contest at
www.QueensAthletics.com.
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