HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team makes their first appearance of the 2018-19 season Tuesday evening as they host the King College Tornado for a 6 p.m. contest in the Tex Turner Arena. This opens up a three game home stand for the Lady Railsplitters.

LMU is looking to bounce back from a close 72-63 loss at Southern Indiana last Wednesday. LMU held a lead a large portion of the game, only to see USI surge past them in the third quarter. The Lady Railsplitters fought back and tied the game at 59-59 with 6:15 remaining, but the Eagles outscored LMU 14-3 down the stretch.

Dasia Maxwell led LMU with 13 points while Emily Griffith chipped in eleven, including an impressive 9-12 from the free throw line. Addi Kirkpatrick and Shermeria Quarles both had a game-high 10 rebounds each while Sydney Newsome led all players with four assists.

Following Tuesday's game and the Thanksgiving break, LMU will host arch-rival Carson-Newman on Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams.

SERIES HISTORY
· LMU has a commanding 24-3 lead in the all-time series. Two of King's three wins over the Lady Railsplitters have come in the Tex Turner Arena. LMU is 12-2 at home and 12-1 vs. King in Bristol.

· In their most recent meeting, on Nov. 21, 2017, LMU went into Bristol and spotted the home team the lead (by as much as eight points) for the first quarter. Then a Rachel Griffith three-pointer sparked a Lady Railsplitter run as they shot out to as much as 25 points before King cut into the score late as LMU went on to win 74-61. In that game, LMU played their entire bench for one of the few times last year as injuries then begin to set in. LMU had four players in double figures, led by Shea Coker's 15 points. Rachel Griffith and Karsen Sims chipped in 13 points apiece and Emily Griffith had 10 points. LMU also out-rebounded the Tornado 47-34. Ali Goldman led King with 19 points, while Taylor Freeman had 18.

· The last meeting in the Tex Turner Arena came on Nov. 19, 2016 as LMU led wire-to-wire in the 90-71 win over King. LMU had five players score in double figures, but the star of the game was Josey Harding, who only had five points but also had a then-third-best performance in program history with 21 rebounds. (She would then go on three days later and shatter not only the LMU but the SAC record as well with 27 rebounds at Carson-Newman.) Megan Pittman and Sims each had 15 points, while Coker had 14. Sydney Duggins chipped in 12 points and Ross Mathis had 11. Ashley Albertson and Whitney Mitchell (who is currently an assistant coach at her alma mater) had 13 points each.
 
SCOUTING KING
· King comes into the game with a 2-1 record. They started off the season with an 82-67 win over Coker before getting walloped by Tusculum the next day 76-55. They used a fourth quarter surge to pull away from UVa-Wise for a 78-62 win last Thursday.

· Kori West leads the Tornado with an average of 14.7 points and 11.3 rebounds a game. Ali Golden, Kristen Cupples and Trinity Lee all have 10 points per game averages, with Golden also averaging 3.6 assists a game.
 
· As a team, King are outscoring their opponents by a 71.7-68.3 points a game margin. Their opponents are out-rebounding the Tornado by 3.0 rebounds a game. They also have a -2.3 turnover margin vs. their opponents.

· King was picked to finish third in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll, behind Limestone and Barton.

· Head Coach Josh Thompson is in his eighth season at King. Prior to King he spent eight years at Nyack. He has a 119-87 record at King and a 192-238 career record.

· The Tornado have made the Conference Carolinas Tournament Final for the past three years.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fifth season at LMU. She has a 78-45 overall record.
 
· Rachel Griffith currently leads the team with an average of 14.3 points a game. Dasia Maxwell is second at 13.0.
 
· Emily Griffith is third in scoring with 11.7 points per game and also leads the team in both assists (14) and blocks (2).
 
· Sydney Duggins is fourth in scoring, with 11.0 points a game.
  
· Addi Kirkpatrick leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 a game, while freshman Sydney Newsome has a 6.7 per game average. Shermeria Quarles had 10 rebounds in her only outing thus far this season.
 
· As a team, LMU is averaging 75.7 points a game while holding opponents to 75.3. They are out-rebounding opponents by a +2.7 margin.
 
RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Emily Griffith ranks 47th with 566 points and trails Tracey Martin (1980-84) by 22 points. Rachel Griffith isn't far behind at 57th with 527 points.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Emily Griffith is 51st with 213 while Rachel Griffith is 61st.
 
· THREE-POINTERS – Rachel Griffith ranks 18th in made three pointers with 65 and trails Mollie Cooper (1994-97) by three. Sydney Duggins ranks 38th, while Dasia Maxwell is in 41st place. Emily Griffith is in 64th place.
 
· FREE THROWS – Emily Griffith is in 40th place with 138 free throws. She needs eleven to tie Monica Owens (1986-90). Rachel Griffith is in 61st place with 92 and Qua Hines is tied for 70th place.

· REBOUNDS – Emily Griffith is tied for 83rd with Lauren Cochran as they each have 186 rebounds. She needs one to tie Isabel Gonzalez (1997-99) for 82nd. Dasia Maxwell is 94th and Cameron DuBose is close behind at 96th.
 
· ASSISTS – Emily Griffith is in 30th place with 153 while Rachel is 52nd with 121. Qua Hines is in 88th place.
 
· STEALS –Emily Griffith has 103 career steals, tying her for 32nd with All-American (and local volleyball/basketball official) Terry Whitehead (1984-86). Rachel Griffith is in 40th place with 88.