HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Contending for the best start to South Atlantic Conference play in program history, the Lady Railsplitters (6-3, 3-1 SAC) welcome the Wingate Bulldogs (3-3, 2-2 SAC) to Tex Turner Arena for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday night.
 
Lincoln Memorial improved to 3-1 in SAC play and won for the sixth time in seven games on Monday by outlasting the Brevard Tornados for a 72-70 victory in Brevard, N.C. By improving to 3-1 in league play, the Lady Railsplitters matched the 2011-12 team for the best four-game conference start since LMU joined the South Atlantic Conference before the 2006-07 season. It has been at least 20 years since any LMU women's basketball squad has won four of its five conference games, according to the statistical databases on file.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' win at Brevard perpetuated an on-going theme of nail-biting games that keep you on the edge of your seat. After leading by as many as 10 points early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Railsplitters watched as the Tornados fought back to take the lead at 70-68 on a three-pointer with 1:35 left. It required more late-game heroics, but the Lady Railsplitters found a way to pull out the victory, as Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) made a steal, rebounded her own miss and tied the game at 70-70 with 52 seconds left. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) then made another steal to give LMU a chance to win it. After the initial game-winning attempt was missed, Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) rebounded the ball and passed it out to Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.), who knocked down the game-winner with three ticks left.
 
Six of Lincoln Memorial's nine games this season have been decided by three points or less, and that doesn't even include Saturday's overtime victory at King. The Lady Railsplitters' three losses (Lander, USC Aiken, Coker) have come by a total of seven points, but that is balanced out by three wins (Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Brevard) by just seven combined points.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are finding ways to win in spite of an absolutely dreadful stretch of three-point shooting. Lincoln Memorial is shooting just 22.6 percent from three-point territory this season, but that number has been far lower in the last three games, as the Lady Railsplitters have connected on just four of their last 35 attempts (11.4 percent) from long range. Lincoln Memorial has been able to offset that a bit by hitting 74-of-148 on two-point shots over that same span.
 
Wingate leads the all-time series against Lincoln Memorial 12-7, but the Bulldogs have not beaten the Lady Railsplitters at Tex Turner Arena since 2011.
 
In one of the stranger settings in recent memory, the Lady Railsplitters pushed their home winning streak over the Bulldogs to four games on February 21 of last season with a 63-60 victory in front of an almost empty Tex Turner Arena. Hazardous road conditions due to more than a foot of snow and the subsequent ice prevented spectators from making their way on campus that day, but the game went on as scheduled, as the Lady Railsplitters limited Wingate to 33.9 percent shooting and overcame a 10-point deficit in the last seven minutes of regulation to seal the win. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) had 16 points and 12 rebounds in that contest.
 
Wingate enters Wednesday's game looking to halt a two-game losing skid, as they were blasted 67-50 by Newberry last Tuesday and suffered a 57-56 loss to Tusculum on Sunday. The loss to the Pioneers must have been especially painful, as the Bulldogs led by 10 points at the half, but relinquished the lead and eventually lost on a last-second free throw. Wingate shot just 32.8 percent in that contest.
 
That was uncharacteristically poor offensive performance, though, as the Bulldogs are one of the more efficient teams in the South Atlantic Conference, ranking third in field goal percentage (42.6 percent) and second in three-point field goal percentage (40.7 percent). Wingate is also one of the more fast-paced teams in the league, ranking second in points per game (71.8), field goals made per game (26.8) and field goal attempts per game (63.0).
 
The rebounding battle could go a long ways toward determining the outcome of Wednesday's contest. Wingate ranks second in the SAC in total rebounds and first in defensive rebounds per game, while the Lady Railsplitters lead the SAC in total rebounds, rebounding margin and offensive rebounds per game.
 
Defensively, the Bulldogs allow 64 points per game on 34.9 percent shooting, which is the third-best opponent field goal percentage in the league.
 
Wingate's five starters account for the bulk of the team's offensive production. Shelby Tricoli leads the way with 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on 36.9 percent shooting, while Courtney Robinson is putting up 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 50 percent shooting from three-point range. Morgan McGee is contributing 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Alex Tomlinson has 8.7 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting. The Bulldogs' fifth starter, Danasia Witherspoon, is figuring in with 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on a 52.3 percent clip.
 
After Wednesday's game, the Lady Railsplitters will not return to Tex Turner Arena until Saturday, January 9, as they head to Newberry this Saturday before taking a two-week break for the holidays.
 
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Harrogate. Live stats, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics. Fans can also follow along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace at WLMU 91.3 The Gap.