HARROGATE, Tenn. -- With the rust hopefully removed from a nearly three-week hiatus, the Lady Railsplitters (7-5, 4-3 SAC) aim to keep pace in the tightly-packed South Atlantic Conference standings when they host the floundering Queens Royals (2-9, 0-6 SAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Lincoln Memorial could never get into a rhythm offensively in the 2016 opener on Wednesday night, shooting 30.8 percent from the field and converting just four of 17 from three-point range in a 72-60 loss at Mars Hill. The game was much closer than the final score indicated, though, as the Lions finished the contest on a 21-7 run to overcome as large as a seven-point, second-half deficit. The Lady Railsplitters allowed Mars Hill to shoot 43.5 percent from the field, but the larger story took place at the free-throw line, where the Lions went 30 for 35 as opposed to Lincoln Memorial's 8-for-10 effort.
 
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) tallied her third consecutive double-double and fourth in the last five games, scoring 15 points while pulling down 11 rebounds. Pittman now ranks 11th in the South Atlantic Conference in scoring with 13.3 points per game while leading the league and ranking 27th in the nation in rebounds per game with 10.5. She is 13th in the country in double-doubles with seven, and trails only Coker's Jazz Green for the conference lead in that category.
 
Wednesday's loss dropped the Lady Railsplitters to 4-3 in league play, but they remain squarely in the middle of the tangled SAC standings. Aside from Anderson, who is sporting an unblemished 7-0 SAC mark, no team has clearly pulled away from the pack. Wingate, Coker and Newberry are all tied in second place at 5-2, while Carson-Newman, Tusculum and LMU are locked in a three-way logjam for fifth place. Mars Hill is right on that trio's tail at 3-4 in the SAC.
 
While the rest of the league is battling to separate itself from the field, Queens is still looking for its first SAC victory, as the Royals ride into Tex Turner Arena at 0-6 in conference play with an eight-game losing streak. None of those eight losses has been particularly close, either. The Royals lost by five points at USC Aiken on November 21, but their closest game since then was a 14-point loss at Anderson. Queens will be looking for its first win since beating Johnson & Wales 71-33 on November 18.
 
The Royals were outscored by 31 points in the second half to suffer an 85-51 loss to Catawba on Wednesday night.
 
It's pretty difficult to find a silver lining for the Royals, who are near the bottom of the NCAA Division II national ranks in terms of field-goal percentage (36 percent), points per game (54.7), field-goal percentage defense (43.5 percent), rebounding margin (-8.5), scoring defense (69.5) and three-point field-goal defense (38.4 percent).
 
Sophomore Carmen Richardson - 5-9 guard from Rocky Mount, N.C. - leads the Royals with 13.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, but is shooting just 35.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. McKell Oliverio, a 5-10 junior hailing from Florence, Ky., is putting in 11 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 41 percent from three-point territory. Seniors Erin Brundage (7.1 points, 2.5 assists per game) and Karlesha Thompson (6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds per game) are the only other Queens players producing more than six points per game.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have won all four meetings against Queens since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Royals' first as members of the SAC.
 
Lincoln Memorial limited the Royals to 13 first-half points in a 64-44 win at Tex Turner Arena last season. The Lady Railsplitters connected on 41.3 percent of their shot attempts, including 6 of 9 from deep to pace the victory. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 11 points in 15 minutes off of the bench, while Pittman had eight points and nine boards. Among returning players, Brundage led Queens with nine points.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Tex Turner Arena. Live stat, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
Quick Hits
The Lady Railsplitters are in prime position to have an absolute field day on the backboards, as they rank ninth in the nation in rebounding margin. LMU outrebounded the Royals 40-27 in last season's meeting at Tex Turner...Queens is 0-5 on the road this season, where the Royals are grabbing an average of just 27 rebounds per game...The Lady Railsplitters have an opportunity to get it going from three-point territory against a Queens team that is giving up the third-highest three-point field-goal percentage in the country, but LMU is 20 for 89 from deep since the start of December

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