HICKORY, N.C. -- A nearly 10-minute, second-half scoring drought spelled doom for the Lady Railsplitters (7-5, 4-2 SAC) in an 85-67 loss to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (4-6, 3-3 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action on Saturday afternoon in Hickory, N.C. The loss was Lincoln Memorial's fifth consecutive to the Bears, who extended the Lady Railsplitters' season-long losing streak to three games.
 
Powell High graduate Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with a career-high 12 points, knocking down three of her five three-point attempts while chipping in three rebounds in just 14 minutes off the bench. Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) added 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes, while Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) recorded 10 points and five boards. Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) went just 2-for-9 from the field, but matched a team-high with nine rebounds. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) contributed nine points and four rebounds while making her first start of the season. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters were a scorching 16-for-27 from the field in the first half, but 11 turnovers contributed to nine extra shot opportunities for the Bears, who were able to take a four-point edge into the break.
 
A Jenni Gust jumper followed by a Brooke Robinson layup staked Lenoir-Rhyne to a 9-2 lead at the 16:54 mark, and the Bears would bulge the lead to 10 on a trey by Gust at 15:12. Trailing 18-8, the Lady Railsplitters ripped off a 9-0 run, capped by a Rawls bucket to pull within one point at 18-17 with 12:29 remaining in the frame. L-R owned the next six minutes of play, assuming a 30-19 lead on a Jazmine Charles three-point play at 6:37. That bucket was the exclamation point on a 12-2 run by the Bears.
 
The Lady Railsplitters clawed back to within striking distance over the final fourth of the half. An Aisjah Lee three-pointer cut the deficit to 32-28 at 4:33, but Charles and Gust scored five unanswered points to make it a 37-28 game. The Bears held a 40-31 advantage with just 1:35 left, but Josey Harding poured in five straight points, while Shea Coker added another bucket to bring LMU within two at 40-38. Jordan Hiatt scored the final bucket of the half to send L-R into the locker room with a 42-38 cushion.
 
The Lady Railsplitters squandered the opportunity to steal a victory in a gym in which they haven't won since 2012 with an absolutely dismal second stanza. Lincoln Memorial bagged just 10 of its 39 shot attempts in the second half, finishing shooting a measly 25.6 percent from the field while faring no better from the charity stripe (4-for-11).
 
That frame was characterized by a nearly 10-minute stretch without a bucket, as the Bears turned a 62-51 lead at the 12:06 mark into a 78-51 advantage before the Lady Railsplitters broke a 16-0 run with two Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) free throws with 3:47 remaining. The damage was done, but Coker provided the Lady Railsplitters with some late offensive life, scoring 10 straight points on three treys during a two-minute flurry. Subtracting Coker's late production from the equation, the Lady Railsplitters were outscored 43-19 by the Bears in the second half.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished shooting 39.4 percent from the field (26-for-66), 33.3 percent from three (8-for-24) and 43.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-16). LMU narrowly won the rebounding battle 42-41, but the Bears dominated scoring in the paint 36-22. Lenoir-Rhyne converted 17 LMU miscues into 23 points.
 
Jenni Gust led the Bears with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting. She added eight rebounds and four assists. Morgan Cooper posted 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Jazmine Charles tallied 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Brooke Robinson contributed 11 points and eight rebounds in the Bears' win.
 
The Lady Railsplitters look to get back on track on Wednesday, January 7, returning to Tex Turner Arena to host the Anderson Trojans in SAC action. Tip-off in that contest is scheduled for 6 p.m., as the Lady Railsplitters aim to avenge a 74-69 loss to the Trojans from back on November 25.