GATLINBURG, Tenn. -- Freshman midfielder Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.) tallied the first goal in the history of the Lincoln Memorial University women's lacrosse program in a 21-2 loss to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (2-2, 2-0 SAC) in the program and South Atlantic Conference lid lifter on Saturday afternoon at the Rocky Top Sports World complex in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
 
The Bears scored three goals in the first three minutes of the match to put Lincoln Memorial in an early hole, but James broke the drought and put the Lady Railsplitters on the board at the five-minute mark, notching the first goal in program history off of a free position attempt.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne answered that goal by pushing the lead to 8-1 at the 10:40 mark on a free position goal by Laura Parker. The Lady Railsplitters picked up their only other score of the contest less than a minute later as Autumn Beddington (Newburgh, Ind.) found nylon off of a free position shot at 11:25.
 
Following Beddington's goal, the Lady Railsplitters were outscored 13-0 over the final 48 minutes.
 
Aside from the goals by James and Beddington, the Bears completely controlled the pace in the opening frame, outshooting the Lady Railsplitters 32-4 and carrying a 16-2 advantage into the half.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne let off the gas in the second half, but retained possession throughout the frame. The Lady Railsplitters were only able to get off one shot attempt in the final 30 minutes, while the Bears swiped up 10 of the 15 available ground balls over that span.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished with five shots in the contest and Beddington led in that department with two shots and one goal. Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with four ground balls, while McKenzie Edds (Maynardville, Tenn.) chipped in with two ground balls.
 
Novak spent all 60 minutes in net for the Lady Railsplitters, making 14 saves over that span.
 
The Bears finished with a 44-5 shot disparity, a 28-10 ground ball advantage and 20-5 edge on draw controls. Lenoir-Rhyne went 8-for-9 on clears, while the Lady Railsplitters were 6-for-13 in that department.
 
James paced the Lady Railsplitters with four draw controls.
 
Claire Wach posted four goals and one assist to lead the Bears, while Lauren Donovan collected three goals and an assist. Four different players scored two goals apiece for Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Next up, the Lady Railsplitters travel to Hartsville, S.C. for a South Atlantic Conference clash against the Coker Cobras. That match is set for a 1 p.m. start on March 7.