HARROGATE, Tenn. -- After a 13-day break for the holidays, the Lady Railsplitters (7-4, 4-1 SAC) return to the court for the first time in 2015 and begin a grueling South Atlantic Conference stretch on Saturday, January 3 with a trip to Hickory, N.C. to square off against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (3-6, 2-3 SAC). Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside of Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be vying for their first win in Hickory since the 2011-12 season, a 71-64 victory on February 25. Subsequently, that was the last time LMU knocked off the Bears in any of the past three seasons. The Lady Railsplitters were swept by the Bears in 2013-14, falling 77-82 in Tex Turner and 55-63 in Hickory. Lincoln Memorial is just 4-12 against Lenoir-Rhyne since the start of the 2006-07 campaign.
 
Saturday's game is just the start of what sets up to be one of the most difficult stretches of the season, a span that will play a huge role in determining the final SAC standings. Following the trip to Hickory, the Lady Railsplitters return to Tex Turner Arena to square off against league-leading Anderson on January 7, and then they hit the road again to Wingate.
 
Lincoln Memorial enters the 2015 portion of the schedule looking to regain some of the momentum that was lost prior to Christmas break. The Lady Railsplitters rode a four game winning streak into the final week of 2014, a flurry that included SAC triumphs over Coker and Newberry. But, back-to-back double-digit losses at home to King (41-61) and on the road at Indianapolis (64-76) put the Lady Railsplitters on their first losing skid of the Krystal Evans' era.  
 
It's been the offense that's faltered during LMU's last two appearances. In that 20-point loss to King, the Lady Railsplitters shot a season-low 29.6 percent, went 1-for-14 from beyond the three-point arc and turned the ball over 27 times. Things didn't improve drastically at Indianapolis, as the Lady Railsplitters shot 38.3 percent, went 0-for-3 from three and turned the ball over 19 times. Lincoln Memorial did, however, log a season-high 28 free throws on 39 attempts in that loss to the Greyhounds. Junior Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) was a bright spot as she matched a season-high with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
 
The Lady Railsplitters look to get back on track and improve upon the program's best-ever South Atlantic Conference start against an opponent that has struggled early to adjust under the direction of first-year head coach Katie Pate. Lenoir-Rhyne, the league's preseason favorite and defending regular season champion, enters Saturday contest with just three wins in its first nine games. The Bears dropped two straight to wrap up 2014, falling 52-57 at Carson-Newman and 63-66 at home to Belmont Abbey.
 
The Bears' struggles have been most prominent on the offensive end, where they among the worst in the SAC with 58.7 points, 21.2 field goals and 3.1 three-pointers per game. Lenoir-Rhyne is shooting the rock at just a 38 percent clip this season, topping the 40 percent barrier only three times in nine appearances. The Bears are, however, one of the stingiest defensive units in the league, limiting opponents to a league-low 60.6 points per on 37.5 percent shooting.
 
Reigning SAC and Southeast Region Player of the Year Jazmine Charles leads the Bears in scoring with 16.4 points per game to go along with her 7.4 rebounds per appearances. Charles is still looking to find a bit more efficiency this season, though, as she is shooting just 36.6 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three. Senior Jenni Gust is chipping in 12.6 points per game, while Brooke Robinson is scoring 9.3 points and grabbing a team-leading 9.7 boards per game. Morgan Cooper is the only other Bear scoring more than five points per game, as she is contributing an even nine points per game.
 
Saturday will mark just the fourth true road test for the Lady Railsplitters this season. Lincoln Memorial is 1-2 in its three previous road trips.
 
Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 3. A free video broadcast will be available via Lenoir-Rhyne's athletic site, while fans can listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace at WLMU 91.3 the Gap.

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