HARROGATE, Tenn. -- A put-back jump shot by senior guard Jasmine Kelly (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) with 0.8 seconds left in regulation gave the Lady Railsplitters a 56-54 come-from-behind victory over 20th-ranked Carson-Newman in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Tuesday evening in the Tex Turner Arena.
 
With the win, Lincoln Memorial improves to 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference play. Carson-Newman, who had just received their No. 20 national ranking earlier in the day, suffers their first loss of the season as they fall to 4-1 on the season and 0-1 in the SAC.
 
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) led all scorers with 14 points. The junior also posted her second-straight double-double of the season as she led everyone on the backboards with 14 rebounds. Fellow junior Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) had her second consecutive double-double as well with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) also scored 10 points.
 
The Lady Railsplitters picked up the win despite posting their worst offensive output of the season. LMU shot 39.0 percent (23-for-59) from the field, 10.0 percent (1-for-10) from three-point range and 50.0 percent (9-for-18) at the charity stripe while also posting 24 turnovers. They earned the victory on the defensive end, though, where they limited Carson-Newman to a 17-for-62 effort (27.4 percent) from the field, a 1-11 effort from three-point range, forced 13 turnovers and held C-N to 35 rebounds. Lincoln Memorial accumulated a 36-28 edge on points in the paint and a 18-6 difference on second-chance points, while pulling down 22 offensive boards.
 
After an early 2-2 tie, Carson-Newman went on a 9-4 run to take the 11-6 lead with 1:53 left in the first quarter. The teams then traded baskets to end the period with Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) scoring all of LMU's points during the stretch to cut the lead to 15-10 at the end of the first stanza.
 
The second frame saw the Eagles maintain their lead throughout as the Lady Railsplitters were never able to get closer than two points. A jumper from Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), who saw her first action this season following pre-season surgery, cut the lead to 20-18 with 6:39 remaining. C-N then went on an 8-1 run to pull out to a 28-19 lead before a basket and two free throws by Pittman along with a three-pointer by Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) cut the lead to 28-26 with 17 seconds remaining. A pair of Eagle free throws put Carson-Newman ahead 30-26 at the half.
 
The third period was more of the same as the Eagles pulled out to the 36-26 lead before seeing LMU once again go on a 10-2 run to cut it to 38-36 with 45 seconds left. A jumper by C-N's Katie Stubblefield with less than a second left gave Carson-Newman some breathing room heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth stanza saw four ties and three lead changes as LMU was able to cut the lead to one with 4:42 remaining. After trading baskets, a pair of free throws by Guy gave the Lady Railsplitters their first lead of the game at 50-49 with 2:33 left. Three free throws by C-N's Tatum Burstrom gave the Eagles the lead, but those were answered by a Pittman layup to tie the score at 52-52 with 1:25 left.
 
Following two free throws by Kayla Newman that put the Eagles up 54-52, LMU coach Krystal Evans called a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt with 44 seconds remaining in regulation. LMU then got the ball to Pittman, whose jump shot rimmed out right to Harding under the basket, who put it in despite being triple-teamed and drew the foul from C-N's Taylor Peterson. Harding missed the free throw with 22 seconds left but the ball went off a C-N player, giving the Lady Railsplitters the ball back. LMU then inbounded the ball and dribbled it around the perimeter to run down the clock before Guy took it in for the potential game-winner with three seconds left. Guy's shot was blocked by Burstrom right to Kelly, who sank the shot with 0.8 seconds left.
 
Eagle head coach Mike Mincey then called a timeout to advance the ball to mid-court, but the desperation shot went wide left as LMU held on for the 56-54 upset.
 
Kailyn Brooks led the Eagles with 10 points, followed by Burstrom with nine. Jecca Simerly and Katie Stubblefield chipped in seven points apiece for Carson-Newman.
 
Quick Hits
LMU has outrebounded their opponents in every game this year. The last team to outrebound the Lady Railsplitters was Catawba on Feb. 28, 2015. In the Krystal Evans era, LMU has only been outrebounded in four games.... The Lady Railsplitters are still being charitable with the ball as they have assisted on 61 of their 101 field goals.... LMU improves to 41-47 against their arch-rivals and 3-5 vs. C-N in the month of November.
 
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters will now take some time off for Thanksgiving before hosting the University of the Cumberlands at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 28. It will be the first meeting between LMU and the Patriots since December, 1997. LMU leads the all-time series with UC 17-9. Carson-Newman is off until December 3 when they host North Georgia for a 6 p.m. tip-off.