HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team continues their home stand as they host Lenoir-Rhyne in a South Atlantic Conference game Saturday afternoon. Admission to Saturday's basketball games will be free as the LMU basketball teams are trying to pack the house and set a new attendance record for the Tex Turner Arena, which was recently featured by the NCAA as one of the top arenas in Division II.

LMU enters the game at 11-7 overall on the season and 7-5 in SAC play following Wednesday's 80-71 win over Tusculum. Lenoir-Rhyne are currently riding a three-game win streak and enter the game 11-9 overall and 5-7 in the SAC.

The Lady Railsplitters vented their frustrations of last week's losses out on the Pioneers as they came out firing on all cylinders and opened up with an 11-0 run. Tusculum battled back to cut the lead to one at the half and even took a one point lead in the third quarter before a 12-0 LMU run and stingy defense by the Blue and Gray broke the game open.

LMU was led by Rachel Griffith, who came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points. Shea Coker chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. Ross Mathis also had six rebounds and five assists to go along with eight points while Emily Griffith dished out six assists. The Lady Railsplitters out-rebounded Tusculum 46-33.

LMU's Play4Kay game this year will be against Newberry on Feb. 3. For more information about the Play4Kay game or the Kay Yow Cancer Fund go to https://support.kayyow.com/team/149961.

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.

SCOUTING LENOIR-RHYNE
· Since losing to LMU on December 30 the Bears have gone 3-3. Their three wins, however, have all come back to back to back over the last two weeks against Queens, Anderson and Coker.

· Cameron Sealey is in her first year as head coach of the Bears and her first season as a head coach after stints as an assistant at Wofford, Georgia State, USC Aiken and Pitt-Johnstown. Sealey was a three-time All-SAC player at Lenoir-Rhyne from 2008-12. Her career record is now 11-9.

· Maddi Suddreth lead the Bears in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. She ranks eighth in the SAC in scoring, just ahead of LMU's Shea Coker. Kendall Toineeta is second in both categories (12.6 ppg and 5.4 rpg) in addition to leading the team in assists (5.6 per game, 1st in the SAC) and steals (1.7 per game). Kennedy Weigt also is averaging double figures in scoring as she is scoring 10.3 points a game.

· As a team, L-R is averaging 70.6 points a game while giving up 68.7 points per game. They are close with their opponents in rebounding, being out-rebounded by 0.7 rebounds a game. They are ranked second in the SAC in total points and assists per game; and third in field goal percentage and opponents' three-point percentage. The team ranks fourth in the SAC in points per game, made three-pointers a game, free throw percentage, and turnovers per game.

SERIES HISTORY
· The Bears hold a 14-9 lead in the series, which started in 2007. The Lady Railsplitters have won all of the last five meetings and are 3-8 against L-R in Harrogate. In the Krystal Evans Era, LMU is 5-2.

· The last meeting between the two was on Dec. 30 in Hickory. It turned out to be a tale of two halves. LMU trailed L-R 31-29 at the half and the Bears had a 24-11 lead in rebounds. The Lady Railsplitters exploded out in the second half, outscoring the Bears 43-27 over the final two stanzas to claim the 72-58 victory. They also battled back on the boards to claim a 39-38 advantage at game's end.

Qua Hines led LMU with 15 points, including an 8-8 performance at the free throw line, that tied Megan Pittman's 8-8 vs. Wingate on Dec. 16, 2015 as the best free throw shooting performance, percentage-wise, of the Krystal Evans era. Ross Mathis chipped in 11 points and Emily Griffith had nine points. Shermeria Quarles came off the bench to lead the Lady Railsplitters with nine rebounds, Hines had seven and Cameryn DuBose had six rebounds.

The loss spoiled a near triple-double from L-R's Kendall Toineeta, who had nine points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Cassidy Joiner led the Bears in scoring with 15 points, while Kennedy Weigt chipped in 11. Madi Suddreth also had double-digit rebounds with 10.

· The last meeting in Harrogate on November 30, 2016 was close for the first four minutes. Then the 20th ranked Lady Railsplitters went on a 15-0 run and never looked back in the 73-51 win.

Shea Coker led all scorers with 13 points. Megan Pittman picked up her 20th career double-double as she had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Then-reigning SAC Player of the Week Josey Harding (who earned that honor after shattering the SAC single-game rebound record the week before at C-N) also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Karsen Sims also chipped in 10 points.

Morgan Cooper and Alecia Bell led Lenoir-Rhyne with 10 points apiece.

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 70-38 overall record.

· Shea Coker leads the team in scoring (both two- and three-point) and rebounding and steals as she has a 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and a 1.5 steals a game average. She currently leads the SAC in three-point percentage and is seventh in offensive rebounds and ninth in made three-pointers and points per game.

· Rachel Griffith is currently winning the "Battle of the Griffiths" as she passed sister Emily Wednesday evening to claim second place on the team in scoring. She is averaging 10.6 points per game and leads the team lead in assists. She is also eighth in the SAC in both three-point and free throw percentage.

· Emily Griffith closely trails her sister in scoring, averaging 10.3 points a game, and ranks fifth in the SAC in free throw percentage. She is also averaging 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game.

· Qua Hines is averaging 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game

· Cameryn DuBose is second on the team in rebounding, pulling down 3.9 a game.

· As a team, LMU leads in the SAC in offensive rebounds per game; is third in points per game, made field goals per game, made three-pointers per game, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, total rebounds per game, assists per game, and steals per game; fourth in made rebound margin; fifth in made free throws a game and sixth in total points.

· LMU also ranks tenth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game, 29th in three-point percentage, 41st in turnovers forced, 51st in rebound margin, 59th in assists per game, 67th in total assists, scoring offense and rebounds per game. Shea Coker is ranked in six national categories, while Emily Griffith and Qua Hines are ranked in free throw percentage.

RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Shea Coker currently has 1,053 points and is in 18th place in the all-time scoring list. She trails #17 Laura Winters (1988-92) by 12 points. There are several other players hovering around the 400-point mark; Emily Griffith is 67th with 436 points while Ross Mathis has 434 and ranks 68th. Griffith trails All-American Lakeshia Salters (1999-2000) by 13 points. Karsen Sims has 416 and is 71st and Rachel Griffith is right behind Sims at 72nd with 409 career points.

· FIELD GOALS – Coker is currently 16th on the made field goals list with 408. She trails former Monica Owens (1986-90) by three. Coker also ranks 15th in career field goal percentage, hitting 47.9 percent of her field goals.

· THREE-POINTERS - Coker is now ranked fifth in made treys with 124. Ross Mathis on Jan. 17 became the tenth Lady Railsplitter to hit over 100 career treys (Coker did it against UVa-Wise back in November) and is now eighth with 109. Coker trails fourth place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 39 while Mathis trails seventh place Kara Harris (2007-09) by five. In attempts, Mathis is sixth on the list with 324, while Coker is ninth with 276.  Mathis trails fifth-place Heather Brown (352) by four. Coker is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .449 percentage, while Mathis is 12th with 33.6%. Also ranked in the top 50 on the made three-pointer list are Karsen Sims and Rachel Griffith (23rd) and Sydney Duggins (39th).

· REBOUNDS – Shea Coker is close to cracking the top 50 in rebounds as she is in 51st place with 268. She needs five to pass Rachel Peach (1981-85) and move into the top 50.

· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis is 25th in career assists with 171 and now trails Lori Merriman (1979-81) by five. Karsen Sims is tied for 38th on the list with 137 assists with Bridget Long (1990-94) and trails Kara Harris (2007-09) by one. Shea Coker is in a tie for 46th place with All-American Sherry Chapman (1986-88) as both have 126.

· STEALS – People must have to lock up their basketballs in Roane County as both of the Griffiths are creeping up the all-time steals list. Rachel is currently in a four-way tie for 48th place with 72 while Emily trails her sister by three steals and four places. (The "third Griffith", a.k.a. their cousin Sydney Duggins, is in 123rd place.) Teammate Ross Mathis trails Emily by two and is tied with former teammate Josey Harding in 54th place. Rachel needs just two steals to tie #47 Ruth Simpson (1992-94).