WINGATE, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (7-7, 4-4 SAC) dropped their fifth straight game in an 88-65 loss to the Wingate Bulldogs (9-6, 7-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in Wingate, N.C. and Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, won for their fifth consecutive game to remain tied atop the league standings.
 
Wingate's 88 points were the second-most by an LMU opponent this season, falling just two points shy of the 90 points put up by Mars Hill on November 19, a 10-point victory for the Lady Railsplitters. The Bulldogs' productive and efficient game - 50 percent shooting from the floor, 58 percent from the three and 90 percent from the free throw line - offset an otherwise decent offensive performance by the Lady Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial finished with a 28-for-66 effort from the floor (42.4 percent), a number that was weighted down by a 4-for-21 performance from long range. It was just the second time the Lady Railsplitters have shot better than 40 percent during their five-game losing skid. LMU turned the ball over just 16 times, their second-fewest this season.
 
Senior Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) led the Lady Railsplitters with a season high 20 points, knocking down nine of her 16 shot attempts while racking up five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) scored 12 points and dished out seven assists with a pair of steals. Rawls struggled from the floor, though, going just 5-for-16 on the afternoon. Both Katrina Ottesen (Chandler, Az.) and Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) scored nine points apiece, while Harding led all players with a career best 12 rebounds.
 
A big run to end the first half helped the Bulldogs take an 18-point cushion into the locker room. A Shelby Tricoli trey and a jumper by Andrea Bertrand pushed Wingate in front 7-2 at the 17:59 mark, but an Aisjah Lee three-pointer tied the game at 9-9 by the first media timeout of the half. The Bulldogs never relinquished the lead, re-establishing a four-point advantage on a Morgan McGree jumper at 13:48. The Lady Railsplitters kept it close over the ensuing passage of play, though, cutting the deficit to 19-16 on a Kiara Rawls layup with 8:49 left in the frame.
 
After Rawls' bucket, the Lady Railsplitters went ice cold on the offensive end. LMU was a respectable 7-for-17 from the field through the first twelve minutes, but knocked down just three of its 11 field-goal attempts over the final eight minutes of action in the half. Over that same stretch, the Bulldogs went 6-for-13 while draining three three-pointers to pace a 21-6 closing run. In the midst of that run, McGee almost single-handedly paced a 10-0 flurry, scoring seven unanswered points on her own. By the end of that run, the Lady Railsplitters found themselves buried in a 40-22 hole.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished the half just 10-for-29 with a 1-for-9 effort from three-point range. LMU turned the ball over 10 times, resulting in 19 points for the Bulldogs. Wingate finished shooting 15-for-31 in the period.
 
It didn't get any easier for the Lady Railsplitters in the second half, as the Bulldogs opened up the final 20 minutes of regulation by scoring nine of the first 12 points to push their lead to 49-25 on a Kelli Bonner trey with 17:34 to play. Ottesen trimmed the deficit to 20 with a bucket just 28 seconds later, but another McGee jumper bulged the Bulldogs' lead to 58-31 at 14:06. The Lady Railsplitters never trailed by less than 21 for the remainder of the game, while a pair of Jasmine DeBerry free throws pushed Wingate to its widest lead of the ballgame at 86-57. Lincoln Memorial scored eight of the last 10 points to trim the final deficit to 23 points.
 
The loss was just the second to Wingate in the past five tries. The Lady Railsplitters swept the Bulldogs last season and took one of two during the 2012-13 campaign. Lincoln Memorial fell to 6-12 all-time against the Bulldogs.
 
Four different Bulldogs hit double figures in the contest. Morgan McGee sparked Wingate off the bench with a game high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and an 8-for-8 mark from the charity stripe. Andrea Bertrand collected 18 points with eight rebounds, while Chantal Dunbar contributed 14 points and seven rebounds in just 22 minutes. Shelby Tricoli added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
 
Wingate won the battle of the boards 40-32 and outscored the Lady Railsplitters in the paint 36-34. The Bulldogs scored 28 points off the Lady Railsplitters' 16 turnovers, while their bench outscored LMU's second unit 35-13.
 
The Lady Railsplitters look to get back on track on Wednesday, January 14 as they return to Tex Turner Arena to host the Tusculum Pioneers in SAC action. Tip-off in that contest is scheduled for 6 p.m.