BANNER ELK, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (0-2) look to solve the riddle of the fourth quarter and pick up their first win of the season on Wednesday night when they visit the Lees-McRae Bobcats (0-2) for a nonconference tilt set for a 6 p.m. tip-off in Banner Elk, N.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial came back from the season-opening South Atlantic Conference vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge empty handed, but could have easily returned from Greenwood, S.C. with a pair of wins if not for two buzzer beaters that were brought into play by fourth-quarter letdowns.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led the Lander Bearcats 45-35 at the end of three quarters in Friday's season opener, but scored just 11 points in the fourth period. The Bearcats, meanwhile, erupted for 23 points in the period, capped by Bre Crumm's game-winning bucket with two seconds left in regulation, to defeat Lincoln Memorial 58-56.
 
The next day, the Lady Railsplitters held as large as an eight-point lead early in the third quarter against USC Aiken before the Pacers rallied for a 68-66 victory on Emry Tsitouris's buzzer-beating jumper. While Lincoln Memorial did produce 20 points in the final quarter of that contest, they were limited to just 41.7 percent shooting, as nine of their 20 points in the frame came from the free throw line. USC Aiken connected on 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) in the period to pace the come-from-behind victory.
 
The fourth quarter certainly proved problematic, but an abundance of turnovers ultimately sealed the Lady Railsplitters' fate this past weekend, as they combined for 50 turnovers in the two games, including a program-high 36 turnovers in the loss to Lander. That wiped away a pair of otherwise dominant defensive performances, as Lincoln Memorial limited Lander to 30.8 percent shooting and a 21.1 percent mark from three and held USC Aiken to 39.1 percent shooting.
 
On a more positive note, it was a breakout weekend and hopefully a harbinger of things to come for junior forward Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio), who reset both her career-high for points and rebounds. Harding had seven points and a career-best 17 rebounds in the loss to Lander, and followed that up with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting against USC Aiken. The Middletown, Ohio native led the Lady Railsplitters in minutes played with 66 and shot 50 percent from the field in the two games.
 
Lees-McRae is also looking for its first win of the season after taking a pounding this past weekend at Tusculum, dropping a 61-40 decision to the Pioneers in the season opener on Friday and then falling 73-58 to Mars Hill on Saturday.
 
The Bobcats were plagued by a plethora of offensive issues in the opening weekend, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 15.5 percent from three-point range while turning the ball over an average of 20.5 times per game. In addition to that, Lees-McRae was outrebounded by an average of 13 boards per game in those two contests.
 
Aside from senior forward Tayler Collins and redshirt junior Martha Mastin, neither of whom appeared in a game this past weekend, the Bobcats' roster is made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Freshmen Alexis Ammons and Brea Forbes lead Lees-McRae offensively with 10 points per game, respectively, while Mackenzie Blankenship is chipping in 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman point guard Markia Stacey is contributing 7.5 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting. Caitlin Brown is averaging a team-high 12.5 rebounds per game after tallying 13 boards against Tusculum and 12 versus Mars Hill.
 
The Lady Railsplitters own an 8-3 edge in the all-time series against Lees-McRae. The two teams met for the first time since 2008 last season at Tex Turner Arena, where the Lady Railsplitters came away with an 85-72 victory. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) accounted for 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting with nine rebounds in that contest. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) was limited to four points, but had nine assists and a pair of steals.
 
Lincoln Memorial hasn't been to Banner Elk, N.C. since November 19, 2008, when they suffered a 70-65 setback to the Bobcats. The Lady Railsplitters are 2-3 all-time on Lees-McRae's home court.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be looking to avoid losing three straight games to open the season for the first time in their NCAA Division II tenure.
 
Live stats and video links for Wednesday's match-up will all be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.

Live stats | Video