HARROGATE, Tenn. -- A torrential shooting performance paired with a long second-quarter run powered the Lady Railsplitters (10-6, 7-4 SAC) to a 72-57 triumph over the Tusculum Pioneers (7-7, 5-6 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's hoops action on Thursday night at Tex Turner Arena. 
 
Lincoln Memorial finished with its second-highest field-goal percentage of the season, knocking down 27-of-53 for a 50.9 percent clip. The Lady Railsplitters accomplished that on the offensive end while holding the Pioneers to 37 percent (20-for-54) shooting, including a dreadful 2-for-11 effort (18.2 percent) from three-point range.
 
Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) and Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with 16 points apiece. Guy went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe coupled with four rebounds and three assists, while Coker connected on 7-of-9 field goals to go along with a pair of assists. Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) also checked into double figures with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) produced eight points, while Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led LMU with eight rebounds.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were scalding hot in the opening quarter, connecting on 8-of-13 field goals for a 61.5 percent clip. The score was knotted at 4-4 until Mathis drilled a pair of three-pointers to put Lincoln Memorial ahead 12-8 at the 4:34 mark. The LMU lead would later balloon to eight points with 23 seconds left in the quarter on a jumper by Coker that barely beat the shot clock. Shynese Whitener closed the gap to 18-13 at the end of the quarter by banking in a three-pointer from the head of the key.
 
A jumper by Kristen McMillion cut the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 21-15 with 7:25 left in the half, but Lincoln Memorial completely dominated the remainder of the quarter, ending on a 21-5 run. A triple from Coker punctuated a brief 5-0 spurt that increased LMU's lead to 26-15 at the 6:40 mark. Kasey Johnson then connected on a three-pointer to pull the Pioneers back within eight points at 26-18, but that would be the final field goal over the final five minutes of the half for Tusculum.
 
A 12-0 flurry over the next four minutes, capped by an old-fashioned three-point play from Guy at 1:33, drove the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 38-18. McMillion converted two free throws to make it an 18-point deficit, but Guy would drain a jumper and knock down two freebies to send the Lady Railsplitters into the half with a commanding 42-20 lead.
 
The Pioneers rolled off a 7-0 run over the first minute and a half of the second half to trim the Lady Railsplitters' lead to 42-27. However, LMU would respond with a 5-0 spurt to increase its cushion back to 20 points at 47-27 with 5:07 left in the third. The Lady Railsplitters' lead would get as high as 24 points at 62-38 on a triple from Coker just before the third quarter ended.
 
The Pioneers outscored the Lady Railsplitters 17-10 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough, as Lincoln Memorial cruised to the 72-57 victory.
 
That margin of victory was the highest by the Lady Railsplitters in the LMU-Tusculum series since a 62-43 win in Greeneville, Tenn. on December 2, 2004.
 
Shynese Whitener led Tusculum with a game-high 21 points, but she needed 27 shots to reach that mark, going 9-for-27 from the field. Kasey Johnson was the only other player in double figures with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Kristen McMillion chipped in eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday, January 23, when they make the 350-mile trek to Hartsville, S.C. to take on the Coker Cobras. That game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m.