HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (10-6, 7-4 SAC) look to keep pace in the South Atlantic Conference standings and build off of Thursday's dominant win when they travel to Hartsville, S.C. on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip-off against the free-falling Coker Cobras (6-11, 5-6 SAC) at the DeLoach Center.
 
Lincoln Memorial posted its second-best field-goal percentage of the season (50.9 percent) and outscored the visiting Tusculum Pioneers 24-7 in the second quarter to pace a 72-57 win at Tex Turner Arena and improve to 7-4 in the SAC standings on Thursday evening. The Lady Railsplitters, who led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter, locked down the Pioneers defensively, allowing just 37 percent shooting with a 2-for-11 clip from three-point range. Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) compiled 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line to go along with four rebounds and three assists, while Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
 
That win helped the Lady Railsplitters hold steady in the increasingly muddied South Atlantic Conference standings. League-leading Anderson was handed its first SAC loss of the season on Thursday to drop to 10-1, while Newberry sits two games back of the Trojans in second place at 8-3. The Wolves are followed by Carson-Newman, Wingate and Lincoln Memorial, who are all locked in a three-way stalemate for third place at 7-4. Mars Hill checks in at No. 6 with a 6-4 league record, while Tusculum, Catawba and Coker are all tied for seventh at 5-6.
 
The Cobras opened SAC play with four straight wins, including a 64-61 victory at the expense of Lincoln Memorial on December 5, but have since lost seven of their last eight games, including a current six-game losing streak. The results over that trying stretch have been a mixed bag. Coker lost by one point at Wingate and most recently dropped a six-point decision at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, but the Cobras were also beaten by 30 points at Anderson and absolutely battered by 39 points at Carson-Newman last week.
 
The defensive end has proved to be the biggest issue for the Cobras this season, as they are serving up a league-worst 73.1 points per game on 42 percent shooting. Coker's foul-prone attack hasn't helped matters on that end of the floor, as the Cobras are committing a league-high 22.2 personal fouls per game. They are also ranked 10th in the SAC in rebounding margin with a -2.2 disparity.
 
The Cobras' offense is generating 65.9 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting, but that number has dipped to 61.6 points per game since the calendar flipped to 2016. Coker has been much better at home, though, where they are producing 72.6 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting.
 
Double-double threat Jazz Green - a senior transfer from College of Charleston - leads the Cobras' attack with 15 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, but is shooting just 38.8 percent from the field. Kendra Lambert, a 5-7 sophomore guard, is putting up 11.1 points per game while shooting 39.5 percent from the field, while senior forward Terrika Foster is scoring 10.2 points and grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game. Senior Kiare Shoats is chipping in 9.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game with a 35.9 percent mark from the floor.
 
The Lady Railsplitters slipped to 1-5 all-time against Coker when the Cobras pulled out the 64-61 victory in the first meeting between the two squads back on December 5 at Tex Turner Arena. In that contest, Lincoln Memorial nearly rallied all the way back from a 12-point deficit and had a shot to take the lead late, but a game-winning three-point try from Shea Coker missed the mark and helped the Cobras escape with the three-point triumph. LMU shot 37.1 percent from the field and went 0-for-10 from three-point range, while Coker shot 45.8 percent in that game. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) posted 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lady Railsplitters. Green led the Cobras with 24 points.
 
Lincoln Memorial suffered a 67-62 setback at Coker last season to fall to 0-2 all-time in Hartsville. Shea Coker compiled 17 points to lead the Lady Railsplitters, who lost despite shooting 49.1 percent and holding the Cobras to 36.7 percent shooting.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Cobras get underway at 2 p.m. at the DeLoach Center. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
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