HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (7-3) were denied their first five-game winning streak in eight seasons after turning in their worst offensive performance in over two calendar years on Wednesday night, as the King Tornado (5-4) ended Lincoln Memorial's five-game home stand on a sour note with a 61-41 victory in NCAA Division II women's basketball action at Tex Turner Arena.
Two nights after lighting up the scoreboard in an 86-76 win over Newberry, the Lady Railsplitters accounted for 41 points or less for the first time since November 23, 2012, a 46-41 loss at West Florida. The home unit faltered in nearly every facet offensively, shooting a season-low 29.6 percent while turning the ball over 27 times. The Lady Railsplitters went 1-for-14 from three-point territory and 8-for-18 at the charity stripe.
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Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) was a bright spot in what was an otherwise forgettable night for the Lady Railsplitters, as the graduate student recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, leading Lincoln Memorial to a 42-37 advantage on the glass.
Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) added six points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while
Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) and
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) pitched in five points apiece.
Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) was limited to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting, but grabbed six rebounds and dished out three steals.
The Tornado accounted for the 20 point margin of victory by taking advantage of Lincoln Memorial's turnovers and converted their free throw attempts. King scored a 27-17 advantage on points off turnovers while outscoring the Lady Railsplitters 24-8 at the free throw line.
The first half was an indicator of the offensive struggles that would plague the Lady Railsplitters throughout the night, as they went just 9-for-28 from the field, committed 14 turnovers and endured a nearly five and a half minute stretch without a bucket. After falling behind 4-2, Lincoln Memorial churned out an 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead at the 15:26 mark. The Lady Railsplitters would not knock down another field goal until Pittman's three-point play at 10:04, which snapped a 12-0 run for the Tornado. The Lady Railsplitters would never regain the lead in the half. A
Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) layup cut LMU's deficit to 18-15, but back-to-back jumpers from Whitney Mitchell and Arnelle Collins bulged the Tornado's cushion to 24-17 with 2:29 left in the half.
Aisjah Lee bagged a jumper near the one-minute mark to send LMU into the half trailing 24-17.
Things only got worse in the second half, though, as the Lady Railsplitters finished 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from the field in the second stanza. After a Smith layup pulled LMU to within five at 26-21 with 16:48 remaining in regulation, the Tornado ripped off a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to build a commanding 41-24 advantage. That stretch was the low point of the Lady Railsplitters' offensive drought, as they turned the ball over 10 times with only one field goal over that span. A pair of Jalan Harper free throws gave the Tornado their largest lead of the contest at 47-29 with 6:48 left. The Lady Railsplitters made it somewhat interesting down the stretch, cutting it to 52-41 at 2:20, but King closed the game on a 9-0 run.
Despite their offensive woes, the Lady Railsplitters limited the Tornado to just 33.3 percent shooting with a 3-for-11 mark from long distance. Whitney Mitchell paced King with 15 points, while Bonnie Durrett collected 14 points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Tia Keitt and Arnelle Collins chipped in with eight points apiece.
Wednesday's loss snapped a five-game winning streak against King, who the Lady Railsplitters had not lost to since the 2009-10 campaign.
The Lady Railsplitters close out the 2014 portion of the schedule with a trip to Indianapolis, Ind. on Saturday, December 20 for a nonconference test against the Indianapolis Greyhounds. Tip-off in that contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Nicoson Hall.
