Lincoln Memorial University Athletics

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Lincoln Memorial had ample time to stew over last weekend's tough loss to Coker. And after a six-day layoff, the Lady Railsplitters made amends for that third-quarter letdown by coming up clutch when it mattered most on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lady Railsplitters (5-3) overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime before going on to pull off a 78-70 victory over the King Tornado (4-4) at the Student Center Complex in Bristol, Tenn. The win snapped King's three-game winning streak and gave Lincoln Memorial a win in four of its last five.
 
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) led Lincoln Memorial with 15 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and one block, finishing 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-5 from the charity stripe en route to her fourth double-double of the season. Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) lifted the Lady Railsplitters off of the bench with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) put in 14 points and five boards. Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) added 11 points, two boards, two assists and two steals.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led 14-12 at the end of one quarter and continued to hold sway at 23-22 after Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) nailed a jumper with 4:45 left in the second period. But King would end the half on a 10-0 run, capped by Arnelle Collins's free throw with 40 ticks left, to carry a 32-23 lead into the break.
 
Lincoln Memorial came storming out of the shoot in the second half, though, as a three-pointer by Coker and a Jasmine Kelly (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) jumper concluded a 10-0 spurt that put the visiting unit ahead 33-32 with 6:23 to go in the third. A couple of free throws helped the Tornado retake the lead at 38-36 with 3:47 remaining in the period, however, the Lady Railsplitters closed the quarter with an 11-4 flurry to head into the final quarter with a 47-42 cushion. Pittman ended that span with a buzzer-beating bucket as time expired on the quarter.
 
Uncharacteristically, the Lady Railsplitters struggled early in the fourth quarter, as an old-fashioned three-point play by Whitney Mitchell completed a 13-4 King rally that put the home team in front 55-51 with 3:53 left in regulation. The Tornado held sway over the ensuing passage of play and extended their lead to 61-56 on a jumper by Mitchell at the 2:12 mark.
 
And that's where the score stood until Guy knocked down a jumper to trim the deficit to three points with 54 seconds to play. After a King free throw, Anderson knocked down three free throws to make it a 62-61 game with just 16 seconds left. The Lady Railsplitters forced a turnover on the next King possession, but missed a jumper on their end that would have given them the lead. Following a quick foul, Jalan Harper went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to make it a two-point game. Without a timeout, Lincoln Memorial drove down to the other end of the floor, where Coker was tripped up with six seconds left. Coker then went to the line and calmly drained two free throws to send the game into overtime.
 
The Lady Railsplitters led from start to finish in the five-minute overtime, as a three-pointer by Anderson put LMU ahead 68-64 less than a minute in. The lead would later increase to 75-66 on two free throws by Cox with 1:44 to go. A basket by Collins closed the gap to 75-70 with a minute left, but the Lady Railsplitters went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
Lincoln Memorial finished shooting 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the field despite going 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. The Lady Railsplitters went 23-for-32 from the free-throw line and converted 85.7 percent (12-for-14) of their freebies in the second half.
 
Whitney Mitchell led the Tornado with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Jalan Harper had 13 points, five rebounds and five steals. Arnelle Collins was the only other King player in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds.
 
King went 20-for-61 (32.8 percent) from the floor, 3-for-20 (15 percent) from the three and 27-for-40 (67.5 percent) at the free-throw line.
 
Quick Hits
Coker's three-pointer at the 7:14 mark of the third quarter ended the Lady Railsplitters' 0-for-15 drought from the three, which dated back to the end of the Lenoir-Rhyne game on December 2...Turnovers proved problematic for Lincoln Memorial once again, as they committed 27 turnovers that were converted into 32 points for the Tornado...The Lady Railsplitters outrebounded King 50-33 and grabbed 16 offensive boards. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) was the catalyst of that effort with four offensive boards. She finished with 11 in the game...The Lady Railsplitters improved to 22-3 all-time against King and avenged a 61-41 loss last season at Tex Turner Arena...After being outscored 21-10 in the third quarter against Coker last Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters outscored King 24-10 in the second-to-last quarter…Lincoln Memorial has already exceeded its road win total from the 2014-15 campaign, when they went just 2-11 in true road tests. The Lady Railsplitters are now 3-1 on the road
 
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters make a quick turnaround to face the Brevard Tornado in the first of three consecutive South Atlantic Conference contests on Monday, December 14 in Brevard, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Boshamer Gymnasium.