HARROGATE, Tenn. – It was a battle of two closely matched teams featuring one of the top rebounding teams in the country vs. a pair of the top scorers in the nation. In the end, rebounding carried the day as the No. 6/9 Lady Railsplitters grounded out the 70-66 win over Catawba Saturday afternoon in the Tex Turner Arena.

With the win, LMU improves to 15-0 on the season and 10-0 in the South Atlantic Conference. They are currently ranked ninth in the WBCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll and sixth in the D2SIDA National Media Poll. They are also ranked first in the D2SIDA Southeast Region Media Poll. Catawba is ranked ninth in the regional poll this week.

Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) led the way for the Blue and Gray as she had her third consecutive double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds, including a perfect 3-3 from three point range. Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) turned in another solid performance as she had 16 points. Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) added in nine points. Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) chipped in 10 rebounds.

The loss spoiled a 32 point performance for Catawba's Bri Johnson, who is the leading scorer in the SAC and the current SAC Player of the Week. The senior went 9-20 from the field, 6-13 from three point range and 8-10 from the charity stripe. Terri Rogers, who is third in the SAC in scoring, was held to only 10 points and had a team high nine rebounds and four blocks.

Both teams shot 36.1 percent from the field for the game. Catawba held a slight edge in three-point shooting, hitting an even 40.0 percent to LMU's 36.4 percent. The Lady Railsplitters took advantage of trips to the free throw line, out-shooting Catawba 77.8 percent to 62.5 percent. LMU came into the game ranked 10^th nationally in rebound margin, and the Lady Railsplitters owned the boards, out-rebounding Catawba 52-38.

LMU had 22 points in the paint to Catawba's 18 and held a 15-9 lead in second chance points. LMU's bench outscored the Indians' 19-11 and Catawba had 11 points off turnovers to 10 by the Lady Railsplitters.

There were ten ties and 22 lead changes in the game, and they started early as Pittman and Johnson both came out of their respective corners and buried three pointers to tie the game at 3-3. Neither team was able to lead by more than three points until baskets by Sims and Pittman put LMU ahead 15-10. Back to back baskets by Rogers cut the lead to 15-14 before Sims found Coker on the perimeter for the long three to put LMU back up by four. The Indians then went on an 8-1 run to lead 23-19 with 16 seconds left but Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.) took the inbounds pass and found Pittman in the paint for the layup as time expired to cut the Catawba lead to 23-21.

To call the second quarter a see-saw affair would be understating it as there were two ties and eleven lead changes in that stanza. Neither team could pull out to more than a two point lead until a Johnson trey and a basket by Serena Brown put the Indians ahead 39-33 with 2:42 remaining in the half. LMU would hold the Indians scoreless down the stretch and back-to-back baskets by Coker and a three-pointer by Sydney Duggins (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) gave the Lady Railsplitters the 40-39 lead at the half.

Catawba went out to a quick four point lead in the third quarter only to see a three-pointer by Pittman and a basket by Sims erase the deficit for LMU. The lead would change hands a few more times before a Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) layup with six seconds left put LMU ahead 56-54 going into the final frame.

A basket and a later free throw by Johnson gave Catawba the 57-56 lead with 8:39 remaining. A pair of free throws from Dasia Maxwell and a Pittman three-pointer sparked a 9-1 LMU run which saw the Lady Railsplitters take a 65-58 lead. Catawba would cut the lead to 65-63 with 4:44 remaining but baskets by Pittman and Coker slammed the door on the Indians and LMU would hold on for the 70-66 win.

After having played three games in six days last week due to weather conditions, the Lady Railsplitters will now have a few days off to rest and prepare for a Wednesday trip to face local rival Tusculum College. The Pioneers are currently 3-11 on the season and 2-8 in the SAC following a 60-45 loss to Queens earlier today. Tip-off from Pioneer Arena is set for 6 p.m. and links for live stats, video and audio are available on www.lmurailsplitters.com