HARROGATE, Tenn. – The No. 5/6 Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Tex Turner Arena to host arch-rival Carson-Newman in a key SAC matchup Wednesday evening. LMU pulled out the 102-99 overtime win at Carson-Newman back on Nov. 22.

LMU is currently 17-0 overall and 12-0 in SAC play coming into the game. They are currently ranked fifth in the latest D2SIDA National Media Poll and sixth in the WBCA/USA Today NCAA Division II Coaches Poll.

The team is one of only four undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division II. Of the other three schools, Ashland and Virginia Union play on Wednesday and Colorado State-Pueblo plays on Thursday.

Currently, LMU sits atop the SAC standings with their 12-0 SAC record. There is a four-way tie for second between Anderson, Catawba, Carson-Newman and Wingate, all of whom have 9-3 records.

In their last game, LMU had eleven players find the scoring column in their wire to wire 85-68 win at Coker on Saturday. Coker would tie the game twice and cut it to two points on a couple of occasions, but LMU extended the lead to double-digits in the third quarter and held on for the win. Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) led LMU with 15 points. Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 11 points, Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) chipped in 19 points and Dasia Maxwell (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new career high with nine points. Caitland Considine led the Cobras with 12 points.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast regionally on MyVLT-TV, which is available on all the local cable outlets as well as DirecTV and Dish Network. The game will be video streamed on the LMU Sports Network, and LMU will 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. C-N
· LMU won the prior meeting this season with a thrilling 102-99 overtime win in Jefferson City.
· Carson-Newman comes into the game tied for second in the SAC with Anderson, Catawba and Wingate. The Eagles have a 12-6 overall record and a 9-3 record in SAC play.
· In the last meeting in Harrogate on Nov. 24, 2015, Jasmine Kelly gathered in the offensive rebound from a Britney Guy miss and put it back in as time expired as LMU defeated Carson-Newman 56-54.
· After this game, the Lady Railsplitters will travel to Hickory, North Carolina for a Saturday contest at Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· The current 17 game win streak is the longest win streak during LMU's time in the NCAA and LMU's best start to a season in program history.
· Senior All-SAC performer and current Player of the Week Megan Pittman leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.1 points a game. She is second on the team in rebounding with 9.7 a game. Pittman is currently shooting 81.3% from the free throw line, which ranks her fifth in the SAC.  She is now second in the SAC in total free throws and third in total rebounds (also third in offensive and fourth in defensive rebounds), fourth in rebounds per game, sixth in blocks and points and 12th in steals.
· Junior Shea Coker is second on the team in scoring with a 14.2 points per game average. She currently leads the SAC in 3-pt percentage, is seventh in field goal percentage, made field goals and made three-pointers, eighth in points and ninth in points per game.
· Senior Josey Harding currently leads the team and the SAC in rebounding and rebounds per game with 11.2 rebounds a game (Pittman is third, with Wingate's Marta Miscenko between them) and is fourth on the team in scoring with 7.9 points a game. She also currently ranks second in the SAC in offensive and defensive rebounds and fourth in free throws, 13^th in free throw percentage and 14^th in blocks. She set a new SAC single-game rebound record with her 27 at Carson-Newman and with her 23 rebounds at Anderson she became the first LMU player, men or women, to have three 20+ rebound games.
· Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) is third on the team in scoring with 9.2 points a game. She currently is sixth in the SAC in 3-pt. percentage, tenth in assists and is fourth in assist to turnover ratio.
· Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) ranks seventh in the SAC in steals and is ranked nationally in steals and steals per game.
· LMU is outshooting their opponents 41.1 percent to 36.9 percent this season. They are outscoring their opponents by a 16.4 points per game margin.
· LMU is ranked second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, eighth in rebound margin, sixth in rebounds per game and seventh in offensive rebounds
· The Lady Railsplitters are currently out-rebounding opponents by 10.2 rebounds a game. In the Krystal Evans era, LMU has outrebounded their opponents in 64 of the 75 games played.
· LMU enters the game with a program record of 837-480-1 in 75 seasons of competition.
 
LMU IN THE RANKINGS
· The Lady Railsplitters are ranked sixth in the latest WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The last SAC team to be ranked sixth or higher was Tusculum, who were fifth in the Jan. 13, 2009 poll. Mars Hill was ranked sixth in the Feb. 5, 2002 poll and former SAC member Presbyterian was ranked from fourth to sixth over a six week period in the 1999-2000 season.
· The team is ranked in the D2SIDA National Media Poll at the No. 5 spot and has six first place votes.
· LMU is also ranked first in the Southeast Region in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, with 60 total points and all six first place votes.
 
RECORD WATCH
· Megan Pittman currently has 891 career points. Harding has 626, Coker has 627, Anderson 328, Mathis 246 and Sims 217.
· Pittman has 699 career rebounds, and now is in fifth place in the LMU record book. She is 10 rebounds behind fourth-place Brandy Brown (1994-98).
· Pittman is now 18th all-time in made free throws with 215. She is four behind #17 Robin Cox (1992-96). She hasn't cracked the top-25 in free throw attempts yet, which translates to third place in career free throw percentage (81.4%).
· Pittman is also on the blocks list, where she is tied for 16^th with Jamie Jackson (2003-05) and Anita Nelums (1992-95) with 45 blocks. Pittman is five behind 15^th place Pam Walters (1989-93).
· 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 and 3 or more 20+ rebound games.
· Harding currently has 669 rebounds and ranks seventh in career rebounds. She is one behind #6 MaRanda Boddie (2011-14) and 30 behind #5 Pittman.
· Harding is 15th all-time in made free throws (230). She trails 14th place Amanda Jackson (1997-01) by six. She is 12th in free throw attempts (325) and is six behind Carrie Shoffner (1985-89).
· Harding is currently in fifth place on the all-time blocks list with 101. She is the fifth player in LMU history to have 100 or more blocks.
· Shea Coker and Ross Mathis have moved into the top 20 in made three-pointers. Coker is 13^th with 72 and trails #11 Ralissa Nelson (2011-13) and Leah Moore (2002-04) by two. Mathis is 17^th with 62 and trails #16 Mollie Cooper (1994-97) by six.
 
LAST TIME VS. CARSON-NEWMAN
· In the meeting in Jefferson City on Nov. 22, LMU ran out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, only to see Carson-Newman battle back and take a 51-48 lead at the half. The lead would see-saw through the third and fourth quarters before LMU went up 89-87 with 36 seconds left on a Coker jumper. C-N's Haris Price would then hit a layup to tie the game and force overtime. LMU grabbed the lead early in overtime and hit free throws down the stretch to pull out the 102-99 win.
· In that meeting Shea Coker led LMU with a career-high 25 points, Pittman had 18 points and nine rebounds and Sims chipped in 17 points. Harding had a career night with 16 points and a SAC record 27 rebounds. Mika Wester led C-N with 28 points, Briana Smith had 21 and Haris Price chipped in 19 points.
 
SERIES VS. C-N
· This is the oldest and longest-running series in LMU history, with this being the 91^st meeting. C-N leads the series 48-42.
· LMU holds a 25-19 record vs. C-N in Harrogate and a 14-7 advantage in the Tex Turner Arena. They are 17-29 in Jefferson City.
· The 102 points by LMU were the first time LMU has scored 100 or more points on Carson-Newman. The Eagles have scored 100+ on LMU only twice, on Feb. 13, 1979 and Jan. 29, 1983.
 
SCOUTING C-N
· Carson-Newman enters the game as the top offensive team in the SAC, scoring 81.9 points a game, LMU is second at 79.8.
· Mika Wester is third in the SAC in scoring, averaging 18.8 points a game. Kailyn Brooks is 13^th with 13.1 per game and Briana Smith 15^th with 11.3 ppg.
· Wester also leads the Eagles in rebounding with 6.8 rebounds a game.