SALISBURY, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (8-6, 5-4 SAC) hope to change their fortunes at Goodman Gymnasium and regain some momentum on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Salisbury, N.C. to face the Catawba Indians (7-8, 4-5 SAC) for a 2 p.m. South Atlantic Conference women's hoops contest.
 
Lincoln Memorial is just 1-8 all-time on Catawba's home court, as the Lady Railsplitters' lone road win in the series came in 2014's 72-71 overtime triumph. LMU has won three of the last four in the series overall, but was handed an ugly 75-55 loss in Salisbury in the 2014-15 regular-season finale. The Lady Railsplitters limited Catawba to 31.1 percent (19-for-61) shooting in that contest, but turned the ball over 26 times and sent the Indians to the free-throw line 40 times to suffer the most lopsided loss in series history.
 
While working against that trend, the Lady Railsplitters will be looking to bounce back from a gut-wrenching 88-83 double-overtime loss to 14th-ranked Anderson on Wednesday at Tex Turner Arena, which dropped LMU into a four-way tie for fourth place in the SAC standings.
 
LMU trailed by seven points with a little over two minutes left in regulation before Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) sparked an 8-0 run with two three-pointers to put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 66-65 with 52 ticks left. Anderson tied the game in its next possession after Alexis Dillard went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line, but Stephanie Smith (Smyrna, Tenn.) - making her first appearance of the season after being ruled eligible for another season of competition - knocked down a layup with 19 seconds left to give the Lady Railsplitters the lead again. The Trojans would force overtime, though, as Dillard made two free throws to even the score at 68 apiece, while Megan Pittman's (Liberty, Ky.) game-winning attempt missed wide. The Lady Railsplitters led in both overtime periods, but Anderson closed the first overtime on a 5-0 run to force a second overtime, when the Trojans finished on a 6-0 run to claim the five-point victory.
 
Pittman piled up 24 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to record her eighth double-double of the season, while Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) and Mathis put up 17 and 16 points, respectively. Smith registered eight points, 11 boards and four blocks in her debut, as the Lady Railsplitters dropped to 1-2 since the holiday break.
 
Catawba has been trending in a slightly different direction since the calendar shifted to 2016. After a dreadful 2-5 start to South Atlantic Conference play, the Indians have won three straight games, handedly defeating league bottom feeders Queens and Brevard before registering a signature 73-69 win over Wingate on Wednesday. Catawba would have a four-game winning streak intact if it weren't for an 80-79 overtime loss at Lenoir-Rhyne on January 2.
 
Junior guard Jada Huntley is a big reason for Catawba's turnaround, as she missed the first 10 games of the season, but is averaging 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 46.3 percent shooting in her five appearances since returning from injury. Bri Johnson - a 5-8 junior guard - leads the Indians with 15.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game on 39.9 percent shooting, while Terri Rogers - a 5-11 sophomore center - is putting up 14.3 points and 8.2 boards a night on a 50.9 percent clip. One of four seniors on the team, Emma Ucinski is chipping in 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, but shooting just 34 percent from the field.
 
Despite leading the SAC in field-goal attempts per game with 64, Catawba is scoring a meager 68.1 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting, which is the third-worst mark in the league. The Indians are offsetting some of their offensive woes by averaging 15.1 made free throws per game on a 76.1 percent clip. They also get a ton of second-chance opportunities, ranking second behind only Lincoln Memorial in offensive rebounds per game with 15.3. 
 
Opponents are shooting a league-worst 27.8 percent from three-point range against the Indians, but Catawba is giving up 42.5 percent shooting from the field (third-worst in the SAC) and allowing 66.7 points per game. Little to no rim protection is primarily to blame for that, as the Indians are ranked 11th in the SAC with a mere 1.4 blocks per game.
 
The Indians are 3-4 at home this season and have actually been measurably worse within the friendly confines. Catawba is averaging 63.6 points with 19.4 turnovers per game on 36.4 percent shooting at Goodman Gymnasium, as opposed to 72.4 points and 16 turnovers per game on 37.7 percent shooting on the road. But the Indians are averaging 13 more points per game in the month of January (76.8) than they did in five games in December (63.0).
 
Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Catawba is set for 2 p.m. in Salisbury. Live stat, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
Quick Hits
The Lady Railsplitters are 7-11 all-time against Catawba...Pittman leads the SAC and ranks 17th in the nation in rebounds per game with 11.0. She has grabbed double-digit rebounds 10 times this season with a streak of five straight games with at least 10 boards...Saturday's game begins a stretch with five of the next eight games on the road. The Lady Railsplitters are 5-2 on the road this season
 
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