HARROGATE, Tenn. – The 20th-ranked Lady Railsplitter basketball team closes out a three-game South Atlantic Conference home stand and looks to extend their winning streak to nine games as they welcome Brevard to the Tex Turner Arena for a 6 p.m. Monday tilt.

LMU is off to their best start in modern program history as they are 8-0 overall and 3-0 in SAC play coming into Monday's game. The 3-0 SAC start also ties with the 2014-15 team the best conference start by the Lady Railsplitters since they joined the SAC in 2006.

The Lady Railsplitters shot out to an 8-0 run and never looked back in the 83-62 win over a feisty Coker team on Saturday. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the way with 20 points. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) added in 12 points and five assists. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) had 10 rebounds.  

Monday's game will be video streamed live on the LMU Sports Network and LMU will also be providing live stats. Fans listening on the radio can hear play-by-play with Rusty Peace on the LMU Sports Network at 91.3 WLMU-FM and online at www.913thegap.com.
 
LINCOLN MEMORIAL VS. BREVARD
· This is the first meeting between the two schools this season and marks the last regular season appearance by Brevard in the Tex Turner Arena. Brevard moves to the NCAA Division III next season.
· LMU was picked 5th in the pre-season coaches poll and Coker was picked twelfth.
· Brevard comes into the game with a 4-1 record and a 1-1 record in SAC play. Their lone loss of the season was a 71-37 shellacking at the hands of Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday afternoon.
· LMU won the last meeting between the two schools in the Tex Turner Arena, an 81-44 decision on Feb. 3, 2016.
· This game closes out a home stand of three SAC games in five days for the Lady Railsplitters. They travel to Wingate on Dec. 14 before hosting Newberry on Dec. 17 to close out the 2016 portion of the schedule.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· The Lady Railsplitters come into the game with an 8-0 record, their best start in the modern 5-on-5 era. The last time a women's basketball team at LMU started off 8-0 was in the 1940-41 season.
· Should they win, LMU would improve to 9-0 for the first time since the 1939-40 team (who went 10-0) and the fourth time in the 75 years of LMU women's basketball.
· The last time a LMU team won eight straight games? The 2000-01 season. That year's squad rolled off a nine game win streak in the middle of that season.
· LMU enters the game with a program record of 828-480-1 in 75 seasons of competition.
· The win over #21 Lander was LMU's first win over a ranked opponent since they upset #20 Carson-Newman 56-54 last season.
· Senior All-SAC performer Megan Pittman is currently second on the team in scoring with 13.0 ppg. She is currently shooting 86.8% from the free throw line, which ranks her sixth in the SAC.  She is third in the SAC in total free throws, fourth in total rebounds (second in offensive and fifth in defensive), sixth in rebounds per game seventh in steals and ninth in points.
· Senior Josey Harding currently leads the team in rebounding with 13.1 rpg. She currently ranks first in the SAC in total rebounds, rebounds per game and defensive rebounds and is second in offensive rebounds. She also ranks fourth in total free throws and fifth in blocks. She set a new SAC single-game rebound record with her 27 at Carson-Newman.
· Shea Coker is leading the team with 13.4 points a game. The junior ranks 6^th in the SAC in field goals made, 7^th in 3-pt. percentage and made 3-pointers and 8^th in points.
· Karsen Sims also is averaging in double figures in scoring with 10.6 points a game. She currently ranks third in the SAC in assist to turnover ratio (7.0), second in 3-pt. percentage and 4^th in assists.
· LMU is outshooting their opponents 40.9 percent to 34.6 percent this season.
· The Lady Railsplitters under Krystal Evans have become nationally known for their rebounding, and this year's team currently is out-rebounding opponents by 11.0 rebounds a game. In the Krystal Evans era, LMU has outrebounded their opponents in 56 of the 66 games played.
 
LMU IN THE RANKINGS
· The Lady Railsplitters are ranked 20^th in the latest WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
· This is the first time in program history that the LMU women have been ranked in a NCAA poll. They were a mainstay in the NAIA Top 25 in the mid-to-late 1980s.
· LMU is also ranked ninth in the Southeast Region in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll.
· This is the first time since the 1988-89 season that both LMU basketball programs are ranked at the same time. There are currently four other schools with both women's and men's programs ranked – Bellarmine, Angelo State, California Baptist and Drury.
 
RECORD WATCH
· Megan Pittman has the most career points on the team with 739. Harding has 554, Coker 492, Anderson 249 and Mathis 205.
· Pittman has 606 career rebounds, tying Bridget Long (1990-94) for 8^th all-time. She is 50 rebounds behind seventh-place Robin Adams (1987-90).
· Pittman is now 25^th all-time in made free throws with 183.
· Harding's 27 rebounds against Carson-Newman On Nov. 22 set a new LMU and SAC record for rebounds in a game. She is also the only player in LMU history, men or women, to have consecutive 20+ rebound games.
· Harding currently has 583 rebounds and ranks 10th in career rebounds. She is 23 behind Pittman and Long.
· Harding is 19th all-time in made free throws (198). She trails 18^th place Juanita Hall (1978-82) by two free throws.
· Josey Harding is currently in fifth place on the all-time blocks list with 96. She has a tall order to get out of fifth as there is a tie for third with 140 blocks between Tracey Faison (1988-92) and Bridget Long (1990-94).
 
LAST TIME VS. BREVARD
· Shea Coker's 17 points led LMU in the 81-44 demolition of Brevard on Feb. 3, 2016 in Harrogate.
· In addition to Coker's 17 points, Megan Pittman had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Britney Guy added in 12 points.
· Shelby Wolfe and Lynsey Crisp led Brevard with 10 points each
· LMU outrebounded the Tornados 54-35.
· LMU's bench outscored Brevard's by a 65-18 margin. LMU also had 22 points off of BC's turnovers.
 
SERIES VS. BREVARD
· LMU leads the series 18-2. This series is most likely in its final season as Brevard is moving to Division III and will have to play a D-III schedule next year.
· LMU holds a 9-1 record vs. Brevard in the Tex Turner Arena. They are 9-1 in Brevard.
· Brevard's lone win in Harrogate came on Jan. 16, 2013 in overtime. The teams were tied late when Shelby Wolfe scored the eventual game winner with 43 seconds left. LMU had two chances to tie or take the lead but turned the ball over both times.
· Longtime LMU head coach Roger Vannoy only missed one game in his 25 years on the LMU sideline. When LMU made their first-ever visit to Brevard on Dec. 5, 2006, Vannoy (along with daughter Morgane, who was a member of the team) missed the game due to the recent death of his father. LMU forward Heather Benton also missed the game due to the death of her father a few days before. The team hung Benton's and Vannoy's jerseys (and one of coach's jackets) behind the bench in their honor. Assistant Coach Dawn Skelcher coached the team to the 71-59 win.
 
SCOUTING BREVARD
· The Tornados return four letter winners off of last year's team.
· Madison Lenox is the top returning scorer and rebounder from last season.
· Madison Lenox is currently leading the team in scoring with 19.6 ppg. She became the program's all-time scoring leader on Saturday in the loss at Lenoir-Rhyne, surpassing Samantha Winn's former record of 1,253 points.
· AnnaLee Bollinger is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 ppg, followed by Lynsey Crisp's 11.8 ppg.
· Lenox is also the top rebounder this season as she currently has a 11.4 rpg average. In the SAC, Lenox ranks second in points per game and rebounds per game (2^nd to LMU's Josey Harding).
· Brevard picked up their first loss of the season Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne.
· Interim head coach Donald Hudson is leading the team this season until a new head coach is named. He is in his third season with the program.
· Brevard compiled a 1-25 record last season, finishing last in the SAC.