HARROGATE, Tenn. -- In a game that featured 12 ties and 18 lead changes, it was sophomore forward Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) that made the difference, fueling the Lady Railsplitters (8-7, 5-4 SAC) with a monster double-double in an 85-80 triumph over the Tusculum Pioneers (3-9, 2-5 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action on Wednesday evening at Tex Turner Arena. The win snapped Lincoln Memorial's season-long five-game losing streak.
 
Pittman poured in a season-high 23 points, knocking down 11 of her 16 shot attempts, while grabbing a season-best 15 rebounds in 36 minutes of action. The Liberty, Ky. native had a double-double before the second stanza even started, rounding out the first half with 17 points and 12 boards.
 
Katrina Ottesen (Chandler, Az.) factored into the decision with 18 points, accumulated in large part via a 4-of-7 mark from three-point territory. Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) nearly recorded a triple-double, scoring 12 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds in 40 minutes. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) struggled from the field, going just 5-for-16, but she still contributed 11 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. LMU's 46.5 percent effort was its best since shooting 51 percent in a win over Newberry on December 15, the last time the Lady Railsplitters checked into the win column. The Lady Railsplitters were able to shoot so effectively thanks to a dominant effort in the paint, where they outscored the Pioneers by a commanding 48-20 margin.
 
After absorbing a huge run by the Pioneers, driven by a potent attack from beyond the three-point arc, the Lady Railsplitters used a timely run of their own to take a slim lead into the half.
 
A pair of Blakely Burleson free throws gave the Pioneers an 11-10 lead at 13:27, but buckets by Rawls, Lee and Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) propelled the Lady Railsplitters in front 16-11 by the 11:38 mark. That lead grew to 18-13 on a jumper from Ashley Pritchett (Decatur, Ga.) less than a minute later. Tusculum responded by outscoring the home team 21-8 over the next seven minutes of action, taking a 34-26 lead after two free throws by Brianna Mitchell at 3:47. LMU trimmed the deficit to five on a traditional three-point play from Rawls, but Shynese Whitener drained a three - Tusculum's fifth of the half - on the ensuing possession to put the Lady Railsplitters back in an eight-point hole.
 
The final two minutes of the half would belong to the Lady Railsplitters, who swung the momentum violently with a nearly flawless 11-0 run. Lincoln Memorial went 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 at the charity stripe over that span, taking a 40-37 lead into the break thanks to a three-pointer by Pittman as time expired. Pittman was 0-for-5 from three this season before putting the finishing touches on LMU's closing flurry.
 
The second half was a back-and-forth affair that featured five stalemates. The Lady Railsplitters grabbed a 56-50 lead on a Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) jumper at 12:54, but the Pioneers scored eight unanswered points, capped by a Rainey Story three-pointer, to take a 58-56 lead at the 10-minute mark. The two teams traded buckets over the next two and a half minutes, with Tusculum pushing its lead to 67-64 on another basket by Story with 7:30 left.
 
From there, the Lady Railsplitters officially took command of the game, ripping off an 18-7 run over the next seven minutes - fueled by a 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line - to take an 82-74 lead with 26 seconds remaining. The Pioneers made it interesting until the end, though, cutting the deficit to 84-80 on a Madison Malone trey with five seconds left, but two Ottesen freebies sealed the game for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were able to overcome a brilliant showing by Shynese Whitener, who racked up 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting with three three-pointers. Whitener added seven assists and four rebounds. She was backed by Maelyn Cutshaw, who poured in 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists in 37 minutes of action. Blakely Burleson was the only other Pioneer to hit double-digits, as she scored 12 points with six rebounds in 38 minutes.
 
The Pioneers finished with a 45.5 percent mark from the field, adding a 10-for-23 effort from long range.
 
The win was just LMU's fifth against Tusculum in the past 21 head-to-head meetings.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to the court on Saturday, January 17, welcoming the Queens Royals to Tex Turner Arena for a SAC showdown. Lincoln Memorial is looking to complete the sweep over Queens, building off of a 52-41 win in Charlotte, N.C. back on November 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Harrogate.