MARS HILL, N.C. - The fifth-seeded Lady Railsplitters (17-11) went 7-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to pull out the 75-72 upset win over fourth-seeded Mars Hill (15-13) in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday evening in Stanford Arena.

The win advances the Lady Railsplitters to the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament for the first time since LMU joined the SAC in the 2006-07 season. It also gives LMU their most wins in a season since 2003-04.

Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) led LMU with 16 points. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) narrowly missed her 13th double-double of the season as she had 14 points and eight rebounds. Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) added in a career-high 12 points and three assists while Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) had 10 points. Freshman Emily Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) also had a career night as she had nine points and five steals, both career highs.

LMU had one of their better offensive outings of the season as they went 50 percent (26-52) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-14) from three-point range and 85 percent (17-20) from the free throw line.

Conversely, LMU's defense held one of the top offenses in the SAC in check as Mars Hill was held to 39 percent (23-59) shooting from the field and 20 percent (2-10) from behind the arc. The Lions did do something only two other teams this season have done as they out-rebounded the Lady Railsplitters 35-31.

MHU Senior Ansley Ricker led the Lions in her final game with 23 points, including a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line. Fellow senior Candice Wilmoth had 17 points while Genice Lane had 12 points and nine rebounds. Kelsey Espinosa added in 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

The four versus five game is usually the most competitive of a tournament, and this one was no exception as the teams traded baskets for most of the first quarter. With the score tied 17-17, Mars Hill went on a 5-0 run sparked by a driving layup from Espinosa at the 1:57 mark. A layup by Rawls would cut the lead back to three, but Mars Hill would hit a pair of free throws to lead 24-19 after one period.

LMU coach Krystal Evans made some adjustments during the quarter break and the team responded with a 14-2 run over the next 3:37 to take a 33-26 lead off a Guy three-pointer. Mars Hill would battle back over the next six minutes and eventually tie the game at 35-35 going into halftime. The evenness of the contest showed in the shooting in the first half as both teams went 13-29 from the field for the half.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle as neither team could gain a clear advantage until baskets by Griffith and Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) put the Lady Railsplitter ahead by four with a little over two minutes remaining. The Lions would cut it back to two before Anderson found Pittman in the paint for the easy layup just before the end of the quarter. LMU would take a 49-45 lead into the final quarter.

Layups from Griffith and Pittman would give the Lady Railsplitters their biggest lead of the game, 53-45, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. The Lions would cut the lead to 57-53 only to see Griffith hit the long three-pointer to put LMU back up by seven. Mars Hill then went on a 9-0 run to take a 62-60 lead with 3:54 remaining. LMU would take the lead again only to see the Lions tie the game at 68-68 with 49 seconds left in the game. From that point the Lady Railsplitters would be challenged to win the game at the free throw line, where they hit seven of eight down the stretch to pull out the 75-72 victory.

Quick Hits
While this is the first time that LMU has advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinals, it is not the first SAC Tournament win in LMU history. In their first year in the SAC, the then-nine team conference had a "play-in" game to earn the final spot in the quarterfinals. LMU defeated Presbyterian 53-52 in what was Coach Roger Vannoy's last game in Harrogate and his final victory at LMU. They faced top-seeded Wingate a couple days later in another memorable game as WU Coach Johnny Jacumin had announced his retirement a few days earlier, so the losing coach in that game was coaching their last game. Wingate won.... This game marked the first time LMU and Mars Hill have met in the post-season (and also three times in a season).... LMU now leads the all-time series 15-11.... This game was LMU's first post-season road victory since they defeated Central Arkansas 62-48 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament on Mar. 5, 2004.... Megan Pittman's 106 offensive rebounds this season are tied for third-best in a season with Hillary Ross (2003-04). Ross has the most offensive rebounds in a season with 124 in 2002-03.... Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) is right behind Pittman with 103 offensive rebounds this season, tying her for 5th with Terry Whitehead (1984-85)...

Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters face top-seed Anderson in the SAC Tournament semifinals Saturday at Noon in Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. Anderson advanced to the semifinals via a 64-48 win over Lenoir-Rhyne earlier tonight. It is the third meeting between the two teams this season. Anderson won in Harrogate 88-83 in double overtime back in January and 67-62 last week in Anderson.