HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Sophomore forward Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) carried the load early with a monster double-double and senior Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) authored a second-half performance for the ages as the Lady Railsplitters (12-9, 9-6 SAC) outlasted the Carson-Newman Eagles (15-6, 9-6 SAC) in a 90-85 overtime victory in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action on Wednesday at Tex Turner Arena. With the win, Lincoln Memorial extended its home winning streak to five game and put itself in a four-way logjam for third in the league standings.
 
In an absolutely bonkers game between two relatively evenly matched teams, featuring 13 ties and 10 lead changes, the individual performances of Harding and Lee ultimately made the difference. Harding obliterated her previous career-high with 20 points, while also setting new personal watermarks with 13 rebounds and five blocks. Harding went 7-for-13 from the field and played 41 of a possible 45 minutes. After scoring just five points in the first half, Lee racked up 22 points in the second half and overtime, finishing with a game-high 27 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lee went 11-for-16 from the field but missed seven free throws in the game, as she had to settle for tying her previous career-high instead of shattering it.
 
The Lady Railsplitters shot 50.7 percent from the field (34-for-67) and 33.3 percent from the three-point line (4-for-12), but free throws and turnovers nearly undid the home team. Lincoln Memorial attempted 33 free throws and converted only 18 of those attempts. The Lady Railsplitters also turned the ball over 24 times, which led to 25 points for the visiting Eagles.
 
Along with Harding and Lee, Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) scored 12 points apiece, while Katrina Ottesen (Chandler, Ariz.) collected 10 points in 19 minutes.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Eagles were knotted in an 18-18 tie with 8:45 left in the opening frame, but an 11-3 spurt propelled Carson-Newman to a 29-21 lead by the under five-minute mark. Lincoln Memorial answered with a 13-5 flurry, capped by a Harding layup, to square the game at 34-34. After trading buckets, Harding scored four straight points and Ottesen rolled one in with three seconds left to send the Lady Railsplitters into the half with a 40-38 edge.
 
Both teams were blistering hot in the first frame, as Carson-Newman hit 15 of its 31 shots (48.4 percent) and went 5-for-11 from three while the Lady Railsplitters shot 45.5 percent from the field and buried four of their eight three-point tries.
 
Lincoln Memorial started dreadfully slow in the second half, though, as the Carson-Newman catapulted out to a 49-42 lead by the 13:40 mark following a commanding 11-0 run. The Lady Railsplitters committed five turnovers over that four-minute stretch and got off only two shot attempts.
 
The Lady Railsplitters hung tough and continued to battle back, cutting the deficit to one point on three separate occasions before finally squaring the contest at 59-59 on a Lee free throw at 6:50. A three-point play by Jasmine Poole put the Eagles back in front by three, but Lincoln Memorial scored 12 of the next 16 points to assume its largest lead of the contest at 71-66 with 1:33 remaining.
 
Despite holding that five-point advantage as the clock trekked under the one-minute mark, the Lady Railsplitters were unable to close it out in regulation. LMU missed two free throws and Whitney Kyle knocked down two in the ensuing possession to cut the margin to 71-68 with 40 seconds to play. Lee went 1-for-2 at the line after that to make it 72-68, but Allison Hodge scored back-to-back buckets, stealing the in-bounds pass with 10 second left to tie the game at 72 all. The Lady Railsplitters flipped the court quickly and gave themselves two easy chances, but Lee and Coker's game-winning tries missed the mark.
 
The Eagles scored the first four points of overtime to grab every bit of the early momentum. But that was when Lee went into an absolutely frenzy, willing the Lady Railsplitters to victory by scoring 10 points in the final four minutes of the contest. Her basket with 2:16 left gave the Lady Railsplitters their first lead of the OT, while her steal and fast-break layup staked LMU to an 88-83 lead with 22 seconds left and all but iced the game.
 
Carson-Newman went 29-for-68 from the field (42.6 percent), 6-for-19 from three (31.6 percent) and 21-for-28 at the charity stripe (75 percent). Whitney Kyle led the way with 14 points and six rebounds, while Tatum Burstrom had 13 points. Jasmine Poole and Allison Hodge scored 12 points apiece, while Kailyn Brooks logged 11 points in 34 minutes.
 
The Lady Railsplitters outrebounded Carson-Newman 47-38 and amassed a 50-30 advantage on points in the paint.
 
Lincoln Memorial topped the Eagles for the fourth straight time since winning an overtime draw in Harrogate on February 20, 2013. The Lady Railsplitters have not recorded a win streak of four games or longer against C-N since ripping off six straight from December 6, 2001 to December 20, 2003.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday, February 7, traveling to Newberry, S.C. for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Newberry Wolves. Tip-off in that contest is slated for 2 p.m.