Jefferson City, Tenn. -- One of the better shooting performances of the season by the Lady Railsplitters (11-6, 8-5 SAC) fell short as free throw shooting down the stretch by host Carson-Newman (14-5, 8-5 SAC) overcame a furious LMU rally as the Lady Railsplitters fell 79-72 Wednesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.

LMU was led by a balanced scoring attack that saw 11 of the 12 Lady Railsplitters who played score. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.), Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) and Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) had 10 points each to lead LMU. Coker went 5-7 from the field, Smith 5-9 and Rawls 4-7 from the field, 1-2 from three point range and 1-4 from the free throw line. Smith also led LMU on the boards with six rebounds.

The Lady Railsplitters went 50% (32-64) from the field, 36% (4-11) from three-point range and 36% (4-11) from the free throw line for the game. Both teams had 37 rebounds and 14 turnovers.

The first quarter saw three ties before a three-pointer by Kailyn Brooks sparked an 8-0 C-N run that gave the Lady Eagles the 16-8 lead. A layup by Lakeshia Beasley (College Park, Ga.) and a three-pointer by Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) cut the lead to 16-13 with two minutes left in the quarter. C-N's Tatum Burstrom and Taylor Peterson then hit three-pointers down the stretch to give C-N the 22-13 lead at the end of the first frame.

The second quarter saw Peterson come out and immediately hit another trey to put C-N up 25-13. The Lady Railsplitters then began to methodically chip away at the lead, holding Carson-Newman scoreless for over five minutes, before cutting it to 31-28 following a layup and free throw by Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) with 51 seconds left. Brooks then missed a three pointer and Coker hit a 12 foot jumper to cut the lead to 31-30 with 18 seconds left. Brooks then missed another three-pointer which was rebounded by Beasley and passed to Sydney Anderson (Cleveland, TN), who then hit the three-pointer at the buzzer to give LMU the 33-31 lead at the half.

The Lady Eagles made a quick run in the third to take a 42-39 lead. Jasmine Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, FL) then drove into the paint and hit the basket and was fouled with 6:28 left. She then hit the free throw to tie the game at 42-42. After C-N went back up by four points, both teams traded baskets for the next several minutes before back to back Lady Eagle baskets sparked a 10-2 run that put C-N ahead 62-52 with 1:27 left in the period. A jumper and a free throw by Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) with 18 seconds left cut the lead to 62-55. A basket by C-N fell short at the buzzer and C-N led by seven after three periods.

After the Lady Eagles pulled back out to the 67-55 lead, the Lady Railsplitters attempted a furious comeback but C-N would answer each LMU basket with a basket of their own. A Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) layup cut the lead to 73-68 with 58 seconds remaining, but C-N woud hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 79-72 win and the season split with the Lady Railsplitters.

Brooks led C-N with 23 points as she went 8-17 from the field, 4-9 from three-point range and 3-4 from the charity stripe. Burstrom added in 17 points and Peterson had 16. Carson-Newman shot 28-66 (42%) from the field, 11-26 (42%) from three point range and 75% (12-16) from the three point line.

Quick Hits
The 32 made field goals were the second-most in a game by LMU this season, second only to the 33 vs. Anderson on Jan. 13.... Megan Pittman passed the 500 point mark for her LMU career in tonight's game. She now has 506 points.... C-N's 11 three pointers are the most allowed by LMU since 12 by Brevard last season.... LMU outscored C-N in bench points 37-22, points in the paint 42-26 and second chance points 13-8.

Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters host Lenoir-Rhyne at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30 in the Tex Turner Arena. L-R comes into the contest with a 6-10 overall record and 5-7 SAC record following Wednesday's 66-63 at Wingate.