HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (11-7, 8-5 SAC) return to Tex Turner Arena and vie for their first regular-season sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne in program history when they battle the Bears (6-10, 5-7 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in Harrogate, Tenn.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne has dominated the all-time series against Lincoln Memorial, which began in 2007, compiling a 14-5 record against the Lady Railsplitters. But Lincoln Memorial snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bears back on December 2 in Hickory, N.C., rallying behind reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) to capture a 69-66 victory. Guy scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, including a three-pointer with 6:54 left in regulation that gave the Lady Railsplitters the lead for good. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 16 points, while Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) snatched 14 rebounds in 26 minutes.
 
In the Lady Railsplitters' nine and a half seasons in the SAC, they have never swept the regular-season series from the Bears and have only won two in a row in the series one time. In addition to that, Lincoln Memorial will also be looking to snap a four-game home losing streak against Lenoir-Rhyne, who owns a commanding 8-1 edge all-time at Tex Turner Arena.
 
The Lady Railsplitters are coming off of a 79-72 loss at Carson-Newman on Wednesday night, which snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped them into a share of fourth place in the league standings. Lincoln Memorial shot 50 percent from the floor, but the Eagles hit 11 three-pointers to stiff-arm the Lady Railsplitters down the stretch. Coker, Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) and Stephanie Smith (LaVergne, Tenn.) scored 10 points apiece to lead a balanced LMU attack that saw 11 different players score.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne was down in the dumps the first go-around with the Lady Railsplitters, but the Bears have been playing much better of late, winning three of their last four games, including a mild upset of the Wingate Bulldogs on Wednesday night, 66-63. In fact, the Bears are 4-3 since the calendar flipped to 2016, with their three losses over that span coming against the SAC's top three teams - Anderson, Newberry and Mars Hill - by 12 combined points.
 
While the numbers have been improved of late, the Bears haven't been great on either end of the floor for most of this season. Lenoir-Rhyne is ranked 10th in the SAC in field-goal percentage with a 37.3 percent clip and scoring with 60.3 points per game, while their 26.2 percent mark from three-point range is the worst in the league. Defensively, the Bears are allowing 41.7 percent shooting, which is ranked ninth in the SAC.
 
In 2016, Lenoir-Rhyne is averaging 64 points per game, shooting 40.4 percent from the field and connecting on 31.5 percent from the three. The Bears combined to make only 23 three-pointers through the first nine games of the season, but they have hit 28 triples in seven games in January.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne's offense is led by a committee rather than a few high-point scorers. Senior guard Jasmine Stafford paces the Bears with 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on 35.4 percent shooting. Junior forward Morgan Cooper is averaging 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 37.1 percent from the field. Shelly Harper (7.8 points per), Brooke Robinson (7.6 points, 8.2 rebounds per) and Jordan Hiatt (7.3 points per) are also among the key contributors for the Bears.
 
Stafford scored 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting to lead Lenoir-Rhyne in the first meeting against Lincoln Memorial this season, while Harper had 11 points. Robinson notched seven points and nine rebounds.
 
In a game that featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes, Lenoir-Rhyne defeated the Lady Railsplitters 57-56 in last season's meeting at Tex Turner Arena. Lincoln Memorial led by a point heading into the final minute of regulation, but the Bears hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory. Neither team shot above 38 percent from the field, but LMU's 17 turnovers resulted in 23 points for the Bears. Harding was the only player in double figures for Lincoln Memorial with 14 points and seven rebounds. Hiatt had 11 for the Bears.
 
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena. Live stat, audio and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics. 
 
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