NEWBERRY, S.C. -- The road continued to be unkind to the Lady Railsplitters (12-10, 9-7 SAC) in an 82-72 loss to the Newberry Wolves (14-8, 10-6 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action on Saturday afternoon in Eleazer Arena. Lincoln Memorial dropped its seventh consecutive road game and fell to 1-10 in Newberry, S.C. since the 1992-93 campaign.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished the contest shooting 42.9 percent despite making just six of their 21 three-point attempts (28.6 percent). Poor three-point shooting has been at the root of LMU's struggles on the road. The Lady Railsplitters have shot it at a dismal 29.9 percent rate from long distance on the road this season.
 
Saturday's loss offset another dazzling performance by freshman Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.), who posted double figures for the seventh consecutive game, leading the Lady Railsplitters with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Aisjah Lee (Louisville, Ky.) scored 13 points, but she needed 14 shots to reach that mark. Freshman Ross Mathis hit four of her eight shot attempts and compiled 10 points in 20 minutes. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) collected eight points and eight rebounds in 24 foul-plagued minutes. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) was limited to less than 10 points for the first time in six games, scoring seven points with four rebounds.
 
Newberry finished shooting 45 percent from the field (27-for-60) with a 27.8 percent clip from three-point territory (5-for-18). The Wolves produced 11 more points than the Lady Railsplitters at the free-throw line, gong 23-for-26 at the stripe for an 88.5 percent mark. Lincoln Memorial was 12-for-17 in the game. Newberry also accumulated 22 points off of 18 LMU miscues.
 
The Wolves' starters accounted for 70 of the team's 82 points, with four of the five finishing in double figures. Zara Pearson and Samantha Creed led all players with 18 points apiece. Pearson was an efficient 6-for-9 from the field, but Creed was 6-for-15 with seven rebounds and six turnovers. Haylee Lepaio amassed 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of work, while Jaya Schultz compiled 12 points, six boards and five assists.
 
Newberry finished with a 40-35 rebounding edge and outscored the Lady Railsplitters 36-22 in the paint.
 
The Wolves accounted for a 16-point swing in the first half alone. The Lady Railsplitters made eight of their first nine shot attempts and jumped in front 22-13 following a pair of free throws by Coker with 12:20 left in the period. The next four minutes saw Newberry rip off a 12-2 spurt, taking a 25-24 lead on two Schultz freebies at 8:21. The Lady Railsplitters regained the lead on a Lakeisha Beasley (College Park, Ga.) layup in the next possession, but a Schultz bucket at 6:59 gave the Wolves a lead they would not surrender for the remainder of the game. Newberry eventually bulged out to a seven-point edge before Lee scored four straight points to make it a 37-34 game with 2:38 left in the half. The Wolves closed on a 5-1 run, though, to carry a 42-35 lead into the half.
 
LMU fell even further behind early in the second half as a Samantha Creed jumper put Newberry in front 54-42 with 14:47 remaining. The Lady Railsplitters were never really able to make a significant dent in the Wolves' lead until two Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) free throws trimmed the deficit to 65-61 with 3:54 to play. But Newberry countered with a 7-2 flurry to extend the lead back to nine with two and a half minutes left. The Wolves went 11-for-12 at the charity stripe in the final minute and a half of action to close out the Lady Railsplitters.
 
With the loss, the Lady Railsplitters fell back into a two-way tie for fifth in the South Atlantic Conference standings.
 
Lincoln Memorial hits the road again on Wednesday, February 11, traveling to Greeneville, Tenn. for a South Atlantic Conference battle with the Tusculum Pioneers. That game is slated to tip at 6 p.m.