HARROGATE, Tenn. – With fall semester finals behind them, the LMU women's basketball team can now turn their attention solely to basketball for the next two weeks as they have four games to play before the Christmas break. First up is a South Atlantic Conference meeting with Mars Hill Monday evening.

LMU enters the game with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 record in SAC play after defeating Catawba 60-43 on Dec. 2 in the Tex Turner Arena. Mars Hill comes into the game 1-8 on the season and 0-2 in SAC games. The Lady Railsplitters are tied for seventh with Anderson and Columbus State in the latest D2SIDA Regional Poll.

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.

Against Catawba, LMU's defense helped them overcome a cold shooting night as they held the Indians to 20 points in the second half, including eight in the third quarter, which is the second fewest points in a quarter ever scored in the Turner Arena. Catawba led for most of the first half before LMU tied the score at 21-21 late in the second quarter. A layup and free throw by Qua Hines gave LMU the lead for good right before the half. The second half was all LMU as they led by as much as 19 in the win. Hines had a career high 11 points to lead the Lady Railsplitters in scoring. Identical twins Emily and Rachel Griffith not only share the same DNA, but they also shared double-digit scoring honors with 10 points each. Ross Mathis came off the bench to lead LMU in rebounds with a career-high eight rebounds. Serena Brown led Catawba with 12 points while Terri Rogers pulled down 12 rebounds.

SCOUTING MARS HILL
· The Lions are currently 1-8 and 0-2 in SAC play. Their lone win of the season came against Converse 66-63 on Nov. 18. Their two SAC losses to Carson-Newman and Wingate came by a combined margin of 105 points. Their game on Dec. 9 vs. Newberry was postponed due to the heavy snow in the Mars Hill area.

· Jenny Finora is in her second season as the head coach of the Mars Hill Lions. Prior to that the former University of Kentucky point guard spent five seasons at Coker. Her record at Mars Hill is 8-29 and her overall record is 66-109.

· After fielding a young squad in the 2016-17 season (12 of the 17 were freshmen), Coach Finora is in a similar situation this year as she only has two players who saw the court back off of last year's team and nine freshmen.

· Sheena Johnson is currently leading the team in scoring with 13.3 points a game. While a newcomer to Mars Hill, she played at King last season and scored eight points in LMU's 90-71 win over the Tornado on Nov. 19, 2016.

· After Johnson, the scoring is a bit more balanced with six players averaging between six and eight points a game. Their rebounding stats have a similar tale as they have three players averaging 6.0-6.5 rebounds a game, led by Tiffany Holloway's 6.5.

· As a team, Mars Hill is averaging 60.4 points a game while allowing opponents to score 80.4 points per game. They are also being out-rebounded by a 39.2-49.7 average and are being out-shot by opponents 39.6 percent to 34.0 percent. They do rank second in the SAC in free throw percentage (75.7) and fourth in defensive rebounds per game (29.7).
 
SERIES HISTORY
· LMU leads the series 17-11 and hold a 9-4 record in the Turner Arena vs. the Lions. They are 13-9 against Mars Hill in SAC contests.

· The two teams played in 1983 and 1984, and LMU played in a tournament at Mars Hill in 1985 but didn't face the Lions. After that the teams didn't meet again until 2002, when Mars Hill was coming off an appearance in the Elite Eight. Mars Hill is one of only four teams to make an appearance in the Elite Eight, the others being Tusculum, Catawba and Wingate (on three occasions). None have advanced to the final four.

· In the last meeting, LMU gave longtime LMU statistician Bill Porter a nice birthday present as five players scored in double figures in a 91-63 rout at Mars Hill in Feb. 15, 2017. Dasia Maxwell exploded for a career-high 16 points, with Megan Pittman adding in 15 and Shea Coker scoring 14. Sydney Duggins also had a career night with 13 points while Josey Harding had another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. LMU had one of their better performances from behind the arc, hitting 12 of 19 three –pointers. Aliyah Farmer led the Lions with 19 points.

· In the last meeting in Harrogate on Jan. 4, 2017, three-pointers by Karsen Sims and Shea Coker sparked a 13-0 start as 10th-ranked LMU led from wire-to-wire in a 95-51 win. Coker had 18 to lead the Lady Railsplitters while Megan Pittman had 15, Sims had 14 and Sydnie Anderson chipped in 11 points in the win. Paige Chavis led the Lions with 27 points.

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 63-35 overall record.

· Shea Coker is currently leading the team in scoring (both two- and three-point) and rebounding, with a 17.0 points and 6.3 rebounds a game average. She currently leads the SAC in three-point percentage and is fourth in offensive rebounds and sixth in points per game. As of today, she is the national leader in three-point percentage, hitting 53.6% of her shots.

· Emily Griffith is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points a game. Dasia Maxwell is second on the team in rebounding, pulling down 4.1 a game, closely followed by Maggie Jachimczuk with 4.0.

· As a team, LMU ranks first in the SAC in offensive rebounds per game, third in rebounds per game, and fourth in points per game. They rank fifth in rebound margin, three-point percentage and made free throws.

· LMU also ranks fourth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game, 22nd in rebounds per game and 45th in turnovers forced. Shea Coker is ranked in nine national categories, including leading the nation in three-point percentage. Emily Griffith and Rachel Griffith are also ranked in the free throw percentage category.

RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Shea Coker is making a run at joining the 1,000 point club as she currently has 935 points. She has now cracked the top 25 in the career scoring ranks, trailing 24th place Brandy Brown (1994-98) by 10 points.

· FIELD GOALS – Coker ranks 23rd on the made field goals list with 362. She trails Karra Jackson (1998-02) on this list by one field goal and Brandy Brown by 13. She also ranks 15th in career field goal percentage, hitting 48.1 percent of her field goals.

· THREE-POINTERS - Coker is seventh in made treys with 107 and is the ninth Lady Railsplitter with 100 or more career three-pointers. She trails sixth-place Kara Harris (2007-09) by seven. Coker is also 13th on the three-point attempts list with 242, and is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .442 percentage. Ross Mathis is 12th in made treys with 87 and trails #11 Katrina Ottesen (2013-15) by two. She is 8th on the attempts list with 262 and ranks 12th on the percentage list with 33.2%. Also ranked in the top 50 on the made three-pointer list are Karsen Sims (tied for 25th) Rachel Griffith (tied for 39th) and Sydney Duggins (44th).

· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis ranks 35th in career assists with 142 and trails Kate Fane (2005-08) by one. Karsen Sims is tied for 44th on the list with 127 assists with Shawna Nichols (2007-08). She trails Jill Breeden (1982-86) by two.

· THE MOST IMPORTANT THING – Congratulations to Karsen Sims, Josey Harding and Sydnie Anderson on graduating Dec. 9!