GREENVILLE, S.C – Foul trouble and cold shooting spelled the end of the No. 11/24 Lady Railsplitters' chances of capturing the SAC Tournament championship as they fell in the title game 81-61 Sunday afternoon.
The loss drops the team to 26-4 on the season. They are still alive, however and are a third seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional, where they will face Clayton State next weekend in Columbus, Ga.
Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio) led LMU with 15 points and a game high 16 rebounds.
Emily Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and
Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) each had 11 points apiece.
Wingate outshot LMU 50.0%-to-33.3% from the field, 57.1%-to-25.0% from three point range and 79.4%-to-60.9% from the free throw line. The Bulldogs' game plan was to control the rebounds and take it inside to draw fouls, which was successful as they outrebounded the Lady Railsplitters 39-36, had 34 points in the paint to LMU's 16 and drew 31 fouls off of the Lady Railsplitters, shooting 34 free throws in the process.
SAC Player of the Year
Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) put LMU ahead 3-0 with a three-pointer on the first possession. The teams then essentially traded baskets with several ties until Wingate went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead late in the first quarter. A
Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) jumper would cut it to 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Wingate would open the second quarter on an 11-3 run to take a 27-15 lead. Baskets by
Shayla Barrow (Orlando, Fla.) and
Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) would cut the lead to eight before the Bulldogs pulled the lead back out to 37-24 at the end of the half, partly on the back of shooting 54 percent from the field and 67 percent from three point range for the quarter.
The Bulldogs would extend the lead to 20 points to open the third quarter and lead by as much as 24 before LMU began to chip away, trimming the lead back to 40-24 at the end of the period.
LMU would try to mount a comeback on several occasions, including one by Harding in the fourth quarter where she scored eight of her 15 points, but never could get within 16 points as Wingate went on to claim the 81-61 win and the SAC Tournament title.
