NEWBERRY, S.C. -- After being outrebounded for just the sixth time in the Krystal Evans era in Wednesday's loss to Wingate, the Lady Railsplitters wanted to reclaim their identity as a tough and physical rebounding team to close out the 2015 portion of the schedule on a strong note.
 
Lincoln Memorial (7-4, 4-2 SAC) did just that on Saturday afternoon, amassing a 52-28 rebounding edge and scoring 28 second-chance points to pace a 68-56 win over the Newberry Wolves (5-6, 4-2 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action at Eleazer Arena.
 
The win snapped the Lady Railsplitters' 11-game losing streak in Newberry, S.C., which dated back to the 2006-07 season. It also avenged a season-ending loss to the Wolves in the quarterfinals of the 2015 SAC Championship.
 
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 15 rebounds on 8-for-15 shooting. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) contributed 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, while Lakeisha Beasley (College Park, Ga.) pitched in seven points and nine boards off of the bench. Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) accounted for two of LMU's six three-pointers to score six points.
 
The Lady Railsplitters destroyed the Wolves on the backboards to the tune of a 52-28 margin, which included 19 offensive rebounds that led to 28 second-chance points. Newberry finished the game with a mere eight offensive rebounds without a single second-chance point.
 
Lincoln Memorial, who shot 40 percent from the field and went 6-of-17 from deep, also controlled the pace defensively, limiting Newberry to 34 percent shooting with a dismal 4-of-19 mark from three-point range.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were sloppy on the offensive end in the opening quarter, committing five turnovers and connecting on just seven of their 18 shot attempts. Thankfully, Lincoln Memorial limited Newberry to 6-of-17 shooting with a 0-for-4 mark from deep and grabbed a 15-7 rebounding edge over that same span.
 
The game was tied at 10 apiece after Shelby Britten converted a Newberry layup with 2:19 left in the first, but Mathis later found Rawls for a three-pointer, which gave the Lady Railsplitters a 13-10 lead with 43 seconds left in the quarter. After another Newberry bucket, Cox grabbed an offensive board and bounced in a seven-foot jumper as time expired to give the Lady Railsplitters a 15-12 lead after one.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Newberry traded baskets early in the second quarter, but the Lady Railsplitters seized control following Britten's jumper at the 8:36 mark, ripping off a 10-1 run to take a 27-15 lead on a layup by Pittman with 4:07 left in the half. The Wolves finally ended a more than six-minute stretch without a field goal on a Samara Hill three-pointer at 2:14, closing the gap to nine points, but two free throws from Pittman and a nifty finish in the post by Cox extended the Lady Railsplitters' lead back to 35-22 with 1:27 left. Meg Essex accounted for the final points of the half to trim LMU's halftime lead to 35-24.
 
The Lady Railsplitters completely dominated every phase of the first half, shooting 42 percent from the field while holding the Wolves to a dismal 9-for-32 effort (28 percent). Lincoln Memorial also racked up a 32-12 advantage on the glass with a 13-0 edge in second-chance points. The Lady Railsplitters had nearly as many offensive rebounds in the half (10) as Newberry had total rebounds.
 
That trend continued in the third quarter, as the Lady Railsplitters quickly pushed their lead to 45-28 on Pittman's second three-pointer of the game at the 5:28 mark. The Wolves would pull to within 14 on a free throw by Essex, but Mathis buried a three-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter to give Lincoln Memorial its largest lead of the game, 60-41.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' lead ballooned as high as 22 points in the fourth quarter until the Wolves closed the game on a 7-0 run to trim the final deficit substantially.
 
Samantha Creed paced Newberry with 16 points, but she needed 17 shots to reach that mark. Britten added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. No other Newberry player finished with more than six points, while Jaya Schultz led the Wolves with seven rebounds.
 
Quick Hits
The Lady Railsplitters were a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. LMU hasn't gone an entire game without a missed free throw since February 2, 2013 against Catawba (12-12)…Newberry got the better of the Lady Railsplitters in fast-break points, outscoring LMU 13-0 in that department…Lincoln Memorial committed 18 turnovers, but it didn't prove too detrimental, as Newberry scored just nine points off of those miscues…Of Pittman's 15 rebounds, 10 were offensive boards.
 
Up Next
LMU will get an extended break for the holidays before returning to action on Wednesday, January 6 with a 6 p.m. tip at Mars Hill, who the Lady Railsplitters own a 13-10 all-time advantage against.