HICKORY, N.C. -- Lincoln Memorial had never beaten Lenoir-Rhyne in Britney Guy's (Locust Grove, Ga.) career, but the senior point guard made sure that was no longer the case on Wednesday night in Hickory, N.C.
 
Guy scored 18 of her career-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Lady Railsplitters (4-2, 2-0 SAC) to a 69-66 win over the Bears (1-5, 0-2 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trailed 51-50 after three quarters, but used a short run and 12 fourth-quarter points from Guy to give themselves a cushion that proved significant in the closing minute of regulation.
 
Two free throws by Guy put the Lady Railsplitters in front 52-51 at the 8:37 mark of the fourth quarter, while a three-pointer from Guy - the Lady Railsplitters' first one of the contest - increased the lead to 55-33 with 6:54 to play. But a layup by Jasmine Stafford pushed the Bears back in front at 58-57 with 4:09 remaining.
 
From there, the Lady Railsplitters churned out a 7-1 run, which was paced by a three-pointer and jumper from Guy, over the next 1:17 to build a 66-59 edge with 1:59 left. A Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) free throw kept it at a two-possession game at 67-61, but Jordan Hiatt canned a three on the ensuing Bears possession to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 43 seconds left on the clock. LMU then traded two free throws with an L-R bucket, which gave the Bears a chance to tie it up in the final possession.
 
The Bears got three straight uncontested looks to force overtime as the Lady Railsplitters scrambled to grab a defensive rebound, but all three drew nothing but iron, as Lincoln Memorial escaped with the victory.
 
Guy finished 7-for-11 from the field and added four assists and three steals. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) broke out of her early-season funk by piling up a season-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) notched nine points in 30 minutes off of the bench. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) had eight points and eight rebounds, while Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) corralled a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
As a group, the Lady Railsplitters finished shooting 47.2 percent (25-for-53) from the field, 33.3 percent (2-for-6) from the three and 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the free throw line. That was compared to a 41.7 percent (25-for-60) clip from the field, 33.3 percent (4-for-12) mark the three and 52.2 percent (12-for-23) effort at the charity stripe for the Bears, who entered Wednesday's contest shooting just 31.8 percent as a team.
 
The Lady Railsplitters trailed by as many as seven points early in the second quarter, as a layup by Shelly Harper put the Bears in front 23-16 with 9:33 left in the half. But Lincoln Memorial used a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to take their first lead since the opening minute of play at 25-23 on a basket by Coker. A buzzer-beating jumper by Jasmine Kelly (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) sent the Lady Railsplitters into the half with a 33-30 advantage.
 
Jasmine Stafford led Lenoir-Rhyne with 21 points, five boards, two assists and two steals, while Shelly Harper had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Morgan Cooper notched eight points off of the bench, while Brooke Robinson contributed seven points and a team-leading nine rebounds for the Bears.
 
With the win, the Lady Railsplitters ended a six-game losing skid against Lenoir-Rhyne and extended their own winning streak to four. Lincoln Memorial, who had not defeated the Bears since February of 2012, improved to 5-14 in the all-time series.
 
The Lady Railsplitters outrebounded the Bears 42-32 with 10 offensive rebounds that resulted in 11 second-chance points. Bench scoring was also a huge factor, as the Lady Railsplitters' second unit outscored L-R's 37-17.
 
Quick Hits
After committing a season-low nine turnovers against Cumberlands, Lincoln Memorial had 19 turnovers on Wednesday, which were converted into 20 points for the Bears...With 14 rebounds, Harding has now accounted for double-digit boards in four of her six appearances this season...The Lady Railsplitters assisted on 10 of their 25 field goals...Eight of the nine players to play scored for the Lady Railsplitters
 
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters return to Tex Turner Arena to face the Coker Cobras in SAC action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. Lenoir-Rhyne is back in action on Saturday as well, going to Brevard for a 2 p.m. tip.