BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Finals Week has drawn to a close at Lincoln Memorial University, but the Lady Railsplitters (4-3) will be put to the test once again for the next week, as they begin a stretch with four games in eight days by heading to Bristol, Tenn. on Saturday for an NCAA Division II clash against the red-hot King Tornado (4-3). Tip-off is set for 1:30 at the Student Center Complex.
 
King marks the first of three road trips for the Lady Railsplitters over this grueling four-game stretch, as treks to Brevard on Monday and Newberry next Saturday are sandwiched around a home date with Wingate on Wednesday.
 
Lincoln Memorial will be looking to bounce back from a 64-61 loss to Coker last Saturday at Tex Turner Arena, which snapped a four-game winning streak and denied the program of its first five-game winning streak since 2006.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were outscored 21-10 in the third quarter and shot 37.1 percent in that contest, but still had a chance to tie it up late in regulation. However, Shea Coker's (Knoxville, Tenn.) potential game-tying three-pointer missed the mark. Lincoln Memorial finished 23-for-52 from inside of the three-point arc in that contest, but 0-of-10 outside of it. That was the program's most three-point attempts without a make since going 0-for-12 in a game in January of 2006.
 
With about a quarter of the regular season schedule complete, the Lady Railsplitters have once again established themselves as one of the better rebounding teams in the country, ranking ninth out of 300 NCAA Division II programs in rebounding margin (+11.6). Lincoln Memorial turns the ball over 20.7 times per game, but has been able to temper the damage done in that department by grabbing a South Atlantic Conference leading 16.4 offensive rebounds per contest, which ranks 25th in the country. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) and Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) are combining to average 7.7 offensive rebounds per game. Harding's 4.4 offensive rebounds per appearance are the 20th-most in the nation.
 
King enters Saturday's contest riding a three-game winning streak after grinding out a 57-51 win over Emmanuel on Thursday in Bristol to improve to 3-0 in Conference Carolinas play. It was an ugly game that featured just 39 combined field goals on 127 total attempts. The Tornado shot 33.8 percent from the field but held the visiting Lions to a mere 28.2 percent clip.
 
The Tornado play at a relatively slow pace with 58 shot attempts per game, but compensate for that by shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from the three. King gets to the free-throw line an average of 24.3 times per game but is shooting a Conference Carolinas worst 55.3 percent while there.
 
Like the Lady Railsplitters, King rallies behind strong defense and rebounding to pull out victories. The Tornado pull down an average of 42.4 rebounds per game and are outrebounding their opponents by 1.1 per contest. They also feature a stingy defense that is holding opponents to 61.1 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting.
 
Coming off the bench, junior center Ashley Albertson leads the Tornado with 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game on 46.8 percent shooting. Junior guard Jalan Harper is putting up 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 51.1 percent shooting. Arnelle Collins is chipping in 9.0 points per game, but hitting just 27.3 percent of her three-point attempts.
 
The Lady Railsplitters own a 21-3 record all-time against King, but were handed arguably their ugliest loss of the 2014-15 season by the Tornado, who came into Tex Turner Arena and throttled Lincoln Memorial 61-41. King completely stifled the Lady Railsplitters' offensive attack, holding them to 29.6 percent shooting including a 1-for-14 mark from beyond the three-point arc in that contest. 
 
Lincoln Memorial claims a 10-1 record in Bristol, Tenn., where they haven't loss since suffering a 75-62 setback in 2006. The Lady Railsplitters last played on King's home court in 2011, winning 80-52.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 2-1 on the road this season, which already matches their win total on the road last season, when Lincoln Memorial went 2-11 away from the friendly confines of Tex Turner Arena.
 
LMU and King are slated for a 1:30 tip. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics.