HARROGATE, Tenn. – The No. 6/10 Lady Railsplitter basketball team begins the 2017 portion of the schedule as they host Mars Hill in a South Atlantic Conference game Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.

LMU is currently 11-0 overall and 6-0 in SAC play coming into Wednesday's game. Despite being idle, they moved up from ninth place to sixth in the latest D2SIDA National Media Poll. They remain at tenth in the WBCA/USA Today NCAA Division II Coaches Poll. Those represent the highest rankings in program history.

Currently, LMU sits atop the SAC standings with their 6-0 SAC record. Catawba and Anderson are tied for second with 5-1 records. Wingate and Carson-Newman are tied for fourth with 4-2 records.

In their last game, LMU held literally from the tip as LMU won the ball and Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) scored 16 seconds into the game. The Lady Railsplitters would open up with a 10-3 run and never look back in the 79-53 win over Newberry. The lead reached double digits early in the second quarter and the closest Newberry would get after that is with 1:22 left in the first half when they cut the lead to 36-27 only to see LMU go on a 5-0 run. LMU led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Pittman led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds, followed by Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) with 13 points, Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 12 points and Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) chipped in 10 points.

Wednesday'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. MARS HILL
· This is the first meeting between the two schools this season. LMU will make the trip to Mars Hill on Feb. 15.
· LMU was picked 5th in the pre-season coaches poll and Mars Hill 10^th.
· Mars Hill comes into the game with a 2-10 overall record and a 0-6 record in SAC play.
· LMU won the last meeting between the two schools in the Tex Turner Arena as they pulled out a 67-66 win on Feb. 17, 2016.
· After this game, the Lady Railsplitters are on the road for the next two games as they travel to Queens on Saturday and Anderson next Wednesday.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· The last time a LMU team won 11 or more straight games? The 1999-2000 season. That year's squad rolled off a 12 game win streak, including a win over nationally-ranked Cal-Poly Pomona.
· Senior All-SAC performer Megan Pittman is leading the team in scoring with 13.8 ppg. She is currently shooting 86.4% from the free throw line, which ranks her sixth in the SAC.  She is second in the SAC in total free throws and fourth in total rebounds (first in offensive and sixth in defensive), sixth in rebounds per game, seventh in blocks, eighth in steals and ninth in points.
· Junior Shea Coker is close behind Pittman with 13.2 points a game. She currently ranks eighth in the SAC in field goals made and field goal percentage, fourth in 3-pt. percentage, tenth in made three pointers and 11^th in points.
· Senior Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) currently leads the team in rebounding with 10.9 rebounds a game. She currently ranks first in the SAC in total rebounds and rebounds per game and second in defensive rebounds. She is also sixth in offensive rebounds, seventh in total free throws and 11^th in blocks. She set a new SAC single-game rebound record with her 27 at Carson-Newman.
· Karsen Sims also is averaging in double figures in scoring with 10.2 points a game. She currently ranks third in the SAC in 3-pt. percentage and assist to turnover ratio and seventh in assists.
· LMU is outshooting their opponents 42.1 percent to 35.9 percent this season.
· The Lady Railsplitters are currently out-rebounding opponents by 9.4 rebounds a game. In the Krystal Evans era, LMU has outrebounded their opponents in 58 of the 69 games played.
· LMU enters the game with a program record of 831-480-1 in 75 seasons of competition.
 
LMU IN THE RANKINGS
· The Lady Railsplitters are ranked 10^th in the latest WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
· The team is ranked in the D2SIDA National Media Poll at the No. 6 position.  This is the highest the team has ever been ranked in any poll in program history.
· LMU is also ranked first in the Southeast Region in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, with all six first place votes.
 
RECORD WATCH
· Megan Pittman has the most career points on the team with 787. Harding has 572, Coker 530, Anderson 284 and Mathis 210.
· Pittman has 639 career rebounds, 8^th all-time. She is 17 rebounds behind seventh-place Robin Adams (1987-90).
· Pittman is now 25^th all-time in made free throws with 188. She is two behind #23 Brandy Brown (1994-98) and Heather Brown (1993-97)
· 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 598 rebounds and ranks 10th in career rebounds. She is 41 behind Pittman and eight behind 9^th place Bridget Long (1990-94).
· Harding is 17th all-time in made free throws (204). She trails 16th place Robin Cox (1992-96) by 15. She is also now 18th in free throw attempts with 289.
· Harding is currently in fifth place on the all-time blocks list with 96.
· Shea Coker and Ross Mathis have moved into the top 20 in made three-pointers. Coker is 19^th with 57 and Mathis is 20^th with 52.
 
LAST TIME VS. MARS HILL
· Kiara Rawls' 16 points and Pittman's 14 points and eight rebounds led LMU in the 76-72 win at Mars Hill in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals on March 2, 2016.
· Sims added in 12 points and Britney Guy chipped in 10.
· Ansley Ricker led MHU with 23 points. Cadence Wilmouth had 17, Genice Lane 12 and Kelsey Espinoza 11.
· LMU outrebounded the Lions 35-31.
· The Lady Railsplitters bested the Lions in shooting, out-shooting MHU 50.0%-39.0% from the field, 42.9%-20.0% from three point range and 85.0%-82.8% from the free throw line.
· The game featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes before LMU pulled away late by hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final 49 seconds to grab the victory. With the win, LMU reached the SAC Tournament Semifinals for the first-time ever.
 
SERIES VS. MARS HILL
· LMU leads the series 15-11. This is the fourth longest active series after Carson-Newman, Tusculum and King.
· LMU holds a 8-4 record vs. Mars Hill in the Tex Turner Arena. They are 6-7 in Mars Hill.
· Last year's meeting in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals was the first time the two teams have met in the post-season.
 
SCOUTING MARS HILL
· Between graduation and the coaching change, Mars Hill only returns four players (and only one of those was a starter) from last year's team. Coach Finora has been working hard on the recruiting trail as she has brought in 13 new players, 12 of them true freshmen.
· Paige Chavis is the top returning scorer and rebounder from last season.
· Chavis is currently leading the team in scoring with 15.5 ppg.
· Aliyah Farmer is second In scoring with 10.3 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 9.9 rpg.
· Head coach Jenny Finora took over the head coaching job last spring in a SAC coaching shuffle. Former MHU head coach Sarah Jansen took the Queens job while Finora, who formerly coached at Coker, took the Mars Hill job. Finora was a starter at Kentucky from 2003-07 (as Jenny Pfeiffer) and is UK's all-time leader in free throw percentage and in their top ten in three-pointers. She comes into the game with a 2-10 record at Mars Hill and a 60-90 overall record.