HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team will host South Atlantic Conference rival and 20th-ranked Wingate Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Tex Turner Arena. It will be LMU's last home game before January, 2019.

The Lady Railsplitters are currently 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in SAC play following their 82-78 win over Queens Saturday afternoon and an 84-60 non-conference win over Tennessee Wesleyan Tuesday. In that TWU game, Emily Griffith's career-high 22 points and a friendly halftime chat from Coach Krystal Evans combined to break open a tight game with a 17-5 run in the third quarter. After that, the Bulldogs were never a serious threat the rest of the evening.

Emily Griffith led the way with 22 points, setting a new career high and tying the career-high 22 her sister Rachel set at Queens on Saturday. Sydney Duggins chipped in 18 points and six rebounds, while Shermeria Quarles pulled down eight rebounds.

Following this game, LMU will hit the road to close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule next Wednesday at Anderson.

SERIES HISTORY
· LMU trails in the series 18-9. Wingate has won four of the last six meetings and are 7-5 against LMU in the Tex Turner Arena. In those last six meetings, three were determined by three-points or less and the two others were 20 point blowouts by each team.
 
· In their last meeting, on Feb. 10 in Wingate, LMU and No. 21 Wingate were neck and neck through three quarters and entered the fourth with a 44-43 lead, but the Bulldogs started off the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run. The Lady Railsplitters would cut it to four only to see WU go on another 10-0 run. LMU would cut back into the lead late, but fell 70-59. Emily Griffith led LMU with 17 points. Cameryn DuBose had a career night as she had her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, both also career highs. Shea Coker chipped in 11 points while Rachel Griffith led the team with six assists and four steals. Marta Miscenko had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Wingate. Caroline Averette scored 13 points and Danasia Witherspoon chipped in 12.
 
· The last meeting between the two in Harrogate was on Dec. 13, 2017. Courtney Robinson hit a three-pointer as time expired as Wingate escaped Harrogate with the 67-64 win. Qua Hines led the way for the Blue and Gray with 11 points, and Emily Griffith chipped in 10 points. Rachel Griffith and Cameryn DuBose each scored eight points, while Karsen Sims, Shea Coker and Dasia Maxwell notched seven points apiece. Addi Kirkpatrick had four points and Maggie Jachimczuk rounded out the LMU scoring with two points. DuBose had a career night both in scoring and with her game-high seven rebounds. Marta Miscenko led WU with 18 points, Caroline Averette had 17 and Danasia Witherspoon chipped in 14 points for the Bulldogs.
 
SCOUTING WINGATE
· The Bulldogs are currently 6-2 on the season and 2-0 in SAC play. They have not played in two weeks, and in their last contest they defeated Carson-Newman 67-58 to extend their win streak to five.

· Wingate is currently ranked 20th in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll.
 
· Caroline Averette leads WU in scoring, averaging 14.5 points a game. Danasia Witherspoon had 10.9 points a game while Courtney Robinson has 10.4 points a game.

· The loss of All-SAC performer Marta Miscenko left the team with big shoes to fill, rebounding-wise. Teliyah Jeter is currently leading the squad with an average of 8.6 a game, followed by Witherspoon (7.8) and Robinson (5.9).
 
· As a team, the Bulldogs are outscoring by their opponents by a 66.8-56.6 points a game margin. They are also out-rebounding their opponents by a 12.1 rebound per game average. One weak spot is their 20.1 turnovers a game average.

· WU Head Coach Ann Hancock is in her seventh season at Wingate after spending 10 seasons at Eastern Carolina. The WU alumna has a 138-55 record at Wingate and a 276-211 overall record.

· The Bulldogs return four starters from last season, losing only Miscenko. They have seven new players on the roster.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fifth season at LMU. She has an 82-46 overall record.
 
· LMU is seeing double as both Emily Griffith and her twin sister Rachel currently lead the team with an average of 12.3 points a game apiece. Dasia Maxwell has 9.5 while Sydney Duggins has 9.1 a game.
 
· Shermeria Quarles leads the team in rebounds average-wise with 6.3 a game, while freshman Sydney Newsome has a 5.6 per game average with more actual rebounds in more game appearances.
 
· LMU could definitely be considered a three-point shooting team this year as Lindsay Proffitt leads the SAC in three-point percentage, hitting 47.8 percent. Sydney Duggins is fourth, Rachel Griffith is fifth and Dasia Maxwell is eighth.
 
· As a team, LMU is averaging 77.6 points a game while holding opponents to 73.8. They are out-rebounding opponents by a margin of +6.6 a game.
 
· LMU leads the SAC in three-point percentage. They are second in points per game, made field goals, field goal attempts, assists, and offensive rebounds per game. They rank third in points and made three-pointers a game.

 
RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Emily Griffith ranks 41st with 640 points and trails Celine Cloutier (1994-96) by 14 points. Rachel Griffith isn't far behind at 48th with 590 points.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Emily Griffith is 44th with 238 while Rachel Griffith is 55th. Dasia Maxwell is in 81st place.
 
· THREE-POINTERS – Rachel Griffith ranks 17th in made three pointers with 71 and trails Amanda Jackson (1997-01) and Sara Wood (1998-02) by one. Sydney Duggins ranks 29th, while Dasia Maxwell is in 39th place. Emily Griffith is in 62nd place.
 
· FREE THROWS – Emily Griffith is in 39th place with 150 free throws. She needs three to tie Aisjah Lee (2013-15). Rachel Griffith is in 49th place with 115 and Qua Hines is tied for 70th place.

· REBOUNDS – Emily Griffith is 75th with 215 rebounds. She needs one to tie Brenda Barnard (1981-83). Dasia Maxwell is 85th and Cameron DuBose is close behind at 95th. Rachel Griffith is in 97th place.
 
· ASSISTS – Emily Griffith is in 26th place with 171 assists while Rachel is 42nd with 136. Qua Hines is in 88th place.
 
· STEALS –Emily Griffith has 114 career steals, placing her at 27th. She needs three to tie Amberly O'Dell (2008-12). Rachel Griffith is in 37th place with 97.