HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The six-seeded Lady Railsplitters (14-14) aim to advance to the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship for the first time in program history as they travel to three-seeded Newberry (18-10) for quarterfinal round action on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Eleazer Arena.
 
Since its first season of competition in the league (2006-07), Lincoln Memorial is 0-7 in the South Atlantic Conference Championship. The Lady Railsplitters and Wolves have one previous encounter in tournament play as the then two-seed Newberry team routed the seven-seeded Lady Railsplitters 78-56 in the Palmetto State on March 3, 2010.
 
Last season was as close as the Lady Railsplitters have come to advancing to the second round of the SAC Championship. After trailing by as many as 18 points with a hair over 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Lincoln Memorial closed on a 34-16 run to tie the Anderson Trojans at 55-55. Britney Guy's (Locust Grove, Ga.) three-pointer with 14 seconds left capped that spurt and sent the two teams into overtime. The Lady Railsplitters held a two-point edge with less than 1:30 remaining in the OT, but Anderson finished by ripping off nine unanswered points.
 
The Lady Railsplitters ended the regular season on a sour note. Following a 79-57 loss at Carson-Newman on Wednesday that was plagued by cold shooting (37 percent), Lincoln Memorial was careless with the basketball in a 75-55 loss at Catawba on Saturday in the finale. The Lady Railsplitters put in their third-stingiest defensive outing of the season and limited the Indians to 31.1 percent shooting, but the visiting unit turned the ball over 26 times and sent Catawba to the line 40 times. The Indians outscored the Lady Railsplitters 32-16 at the line alone. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) led the way with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) contributed 11 points and 10 boards.
 
Fortunately, Newberry is also heading into tournament play with wounds still fresh from one of its worst losses of the season. The Wolves were riding a five-game winning streak before falling 68-60 at home to second-place Wingate on Wednesday. Newberry then suffered a 31-point shellacking at the hands of Carson-Newman in the regular season finale on Saturday.
 
In that contest, Newberry finished with a season-low for points (44), field goals made (16) and field goal percentage (.262). The Wolves tallied just 19 points in the first half on 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) shooting and did not register their first point until the 13:40 mark.
 
That loss was an anomaly in many ways as Newberry boasts the second-most efficient offense in the SAC, shooting 42.7 percent for the season. The Wolves are also tied with Anderson - the SAC regular season champ - for the fewest per-game turnover average with 15.5.
 
Junior guard Samantha Creed and senior forward Haylee Lepaio form arguably the most productive inside-out duo in the league. Creed is pouring in 17.1 points and dishing out 3.7 assists per game on 41.9 percent shooting, while Lepaio is averaging 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per appearance. Creed has scored 20 points or more in nine games, while Lepaio has 12 double-doubles this season.
 
LMU and Newberry split the regular season series and the two teams are dead even in the point spread heading into Wednesday's bout. In the first meeting on December 15, the full-strength Lady Railsplitters mustered an 86-76 victory, shooting 50.9 percent and limited the visiting Wolves to 38.3 percent shooting. The tables were turned in the second meeting on February 7 in Newberry, S.C. as the Wolves captured an 82-72 triumph. The Lady Railsplitters led by nine early in the first half, but Newberry closed the frame on a 29-13 spurt and never looked back.
 
In the first meeting with Newberry, Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) reset her career-high for points and rebounds with 24 points and 13 boards. Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) pitched in 14 points and six assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) starred in the second encounter, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) contributed 10 points and four assists in that contest.
 
Lepaio and Creed were dominant in both games this season. Lepaio scored 20 points and hauled in nine rebounds at Tex Turner Arena, then piled up 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists at Newberry. Creed tallied 18 points in both meetings.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 1-10 all-time in Newberry. Lincoln Memorial has dropped 10 straight games at Eleazor Arena since its last win there on February 6, 1993.
 
The winner of Wednesday's contest advances to the semifinal round - which will be played at Furman University's Timmons Arena - where the winner of No. 2 Wingate and No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne awaits.
 
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Newberry, S.C. Live stats, video and audio links will all be available through www.LMURailsplitters.com.

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Audio