HARROGATE, Tenn. – There's no place like home, and the no. 24/12 Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team will finally get to play at home for the first time this season when they host Clayton State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. This game will be a rematch of the opening round of last year' NCAA Southeast Region, where LMU prevailed 87-58.

There will be a ring ceremony during halftime of the men's game against Shorter where the team will celebrate last season's SAC Championship as well as their NCAA Tournament run.

Links to live stats and video of the game above or on www.lmurailsplitters.com. You can also hear the game on 91.3 WLMU locally or at www.913thegap.com.

The team is currently ranked 24th in the WBCA Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll and 12th in the D2SIDA National media poll.

LMU enters the contest with a 1-2 record after falling 83-80 at UVa-Wise Wednesday evening. In that contest the Lady Railsplitters had a double-digit lead late in the second quarter only to see a feisty Cavalier squad cut it to five points by halftime. Then LMU went ice cold from the field in the third period while Wise got hot, allowing the Cavs to take a 55-52 lead into the fourth quarter. The final stanza was a highly entertaining back-and-forth affair, with the ending only decided in the final seconds as UVa-Wise held on for the 83-80 win.

Rachel Griffith led LMU with 15 points, including a perfect 6-6 performance at the free throw line. Her sister Emily had 13 points and was close to perfect in free throws as well, going 9-10 from the charity stripe. Shea Coker had 11 points and led the team in rebounds with seven.

SCOUTING CLAYTON STATE
· The Lakers enter the game with a 0-2 record, having lost last weekend to Anderson 79-36 and Wingate 59-48. They did play an exhibition game Thursday afternoon against Carver, winning 90-49.

· Kaleena Coleman is in her third season as the coach at Clayton State, but she has been a fixture on the sidelines and the court since 2004 as both a player, assistant coach and now head coach.

· The Lakers went 22-7 last year and posted a 15-4 mark in Peach Belt Conference play. They have had 20+ wins for the last 11 seasons.

· The team only returns five players from last season, and two of those did not play. Coach Coleman had a busy summer as she has 11 new players on this season's roster, including two transfers from former PBC foe Armstrong State, who ceased their athletic programs at the end of the 2016-17 academic year.

· Abreyln Rackley is the leading returning scorer for the Lakers. Last season she averaged 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds a game.

SERIES HISTORY
· The series is tied a 2-2. LMU's win's came last year and in 1994, but both wins have a tie to Coach Krystal Evans as the 1994 victory came in a tournament in her "home away from home" at Gardner-Webb.

· This is the first time Clayton State has played in Harrogate.

· The games in this series have not been close, with both of LMU's wins coming by more than 15 points and both of Clayton State's wins being by nine points.

· In last year's meeting, LMU led from wire-to-wire in an 87-58 win in Columbus, Georgia, in the NCAA Southeast Regional. It was LMU's first tournament appearance since 2003 and their first-ever win. Five players had double-figure scoring for the Lady Railsplitters, led by Karsen Sims' career-high 19 points. Emily Griffith tied her career high with 18 points, while Shea Coker had 12. Rachel Griffith had 11 points and Josey Harding had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. LMU dominated in rebounding by a 44-31 margin and shot 53.1 percent for the game.

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 60-34 overall record.

· One of the key stats for the team in the Krystal Evans era is rebounding. During her tenure, LMU has only been out-rebounded by their opponents in 13 out of 94 games. The team currently leads the SAC in offensive rebounds per game (21.7) and is fourth in total rebounds.

· Three-point shooting is another hallmark of recent LMU teams, with LMU being amongst the national leaders last season. Shea Coker currently leads the SAC in three-point percentage and is fourth in made treys. She is also third in offensive rebounds and sixth in points per game.

RECORD WATCH
· POINTS – Shea Coker currently has 865 points and ranks 28th in the career scoring ranks, trailing Melinda Godfrey (1996-98) and Heather Brown (1993-97) by 15.

· FIELD GOALS – Coker ranks at 25th on the made field goals list with 334. She trails Laura Winters (1988-92) on this list by five field goals. She also ranks 15th in career field goal percentage, hitting 47.7 percent of her field goals.

· THREE-POINTERS - Coker is 9th in made treys with 101 and is the ninth Lady Railsplitter with 100 or more career three-pointers. She trails eighth-place Ashley Cox (1998-02) by one and seventh place Stephanie Wagner (2007-09) by four. Coker is also 14th on the three-point attempts list with 229, and is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .441 percentage. Ross Mathis is 12th in made treys with 85 and trails #11 Katrina Ottesen (2013-15) by four. She is tied for 8th on the attempts list with 255 (with Ottesen and Wagner) and ranks 12th on the percentage list with 33.3%. Also ranked in the top 50 on the made three-pointer list are Karsen Sims (tied for 29^th with former teammate Sydney Anderson) and Sydney Duggins (43rd). Rachel Griffith is currently tied for 46th place.

· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis ranks 36th in career assists with 139 and trails Kate Fane (2005-08) by one. Karsen Sims is tied for 50th on the list with 120 assists, trailing Ralissa Nelson (2011-13) by one.