GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Lady Railsplitter basketball team (17-12) saw their 2015-16 season come to a close Saturday afternoon as they fell to top-seeded and 25th-ranked Anderson (22-5) 69-51 in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals at Timmons Arena.

It was the Lady Railsplitters' first-ever appearance in the SAC semifinals since LMU joined the SAC in 2006.

"I'm very proud of my players. Obviously they've done something that LMU was not able to accomplish before, and at the end of the day it wasn't the outcome that we wanted, but I'm still very proud of the effort and the season we had," said head coach Krystal Evans after the loss.

LMU was led in scoring by senior Jasmine Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), who had nine points in her final outing wearing the Blue and Gray. Graduate player Stephanie Smith (La Vergne, Tenn.) had eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds while Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) and Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) had seven points each. Senior Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.) had four points and three assists and First Team All-SAC performer Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) added in four points and seven rebounds.

For the game, LMU shot 18-68 (26.5%) from the field, 1-14 (7.1%) from behind the three-point arc and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line.

Anderson went 22-58 (28.6%) from the field, 4-16 (25%) from three-point range and 21-31 (66.7%) from the charity stripe. The Trojans outrebounded the Lady Railsplitters 51-42.

SAC Player of the Year Jennifer Monroe led Anderson with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Madison Floyd added in 12 points and Alexis Dillard scored 10 points and had three blocks.

LMU went out to the quick 3-0 lead after Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) hit a layup and a free throw with 8:19 left in the first quarter. Monroe then scored six points for the Trojans to give them a 6-3 lead. Pittman then hit a short jumper in the paint to give the Lady Railsplitters the 7-6 lead. Anderson then went on a 10-3 run to open up the game. LMU would cut it back to four on one occasion before AU pulled out to the 19-14 lead going into the second quarter.

The Trojans then began their defensive pressure to bear and outscored LMU 16-4 in the second quarter, eventually holding a 35-18 lead at the half.

In the third frame the Lady Railsplitters began to see their shots begin to fall but were still unable to cut into the AU lead as the Trojans extended their advantage to as much as 27 points before LMU cut it back to 54-30 after three periods.

In the fourth the teams traded baskets and LMU was able to get it to 61-44 with 3:12 remaining but could come no closer as Anderson held on for the 69-51 win. 

The loss ends the careers of Guy, Kelly, Rawls, Smith, Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Lakeshia Beasley (College Park, Ga.). LMU will return nearly two-thirds of the roster next season, including their leading scorer and rebounder, which give Coach Evans optimism for the future.

"I think that one thing that really helped Anderson is that they've been here before," said Evans. "Now we've got that tournament experience under our belt and we'll be back."

QUICK HITS
The 17 wins this season were LMU's most since the 2003-04 team went 21-8.... Anderson has ended LMU's season three out of the last four years.... Pittman finished the season ranked fifth in most rebounds in a season, third in most offensive rebounds and sixth for most defensive rebounds in a season.... Harding finished the season ranking fifth in offensive rebounds and 20th in blocks in a season.... As a team, this season's squad ranks fourth all-time in rebounds in a season with 1,311, first in rebounding (42.5 a game), fifth in defensive rebounds (826), second in offensive rebounds (485) and fifth in blocks (119).