HARROGATE, Tenn. – A put-back layup by Rachel Griffith sparked a 25-0 run that spanned a large portion of the first and second quarters and the LMU women's basketball team never looked back as they upset 20th-ranked Wingate 75-67 on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the Tex Turner Arena.

The win moves the Lady Railsplitters to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in South Atlantic Conference play and extends their winning streak to four games. It also puts them in sole possession of third place behind Anderson and Newberry, who each have 3-0 conference records. LMU will travel to Anderson next Wednesday a 6 p.m. tip-off in their final game of the 2018 portion of the schedule.

Wingate falls to 6-3 and 2-1 in SAC play and sees a five-game win streak snapped.

"I felt like we started this game with a lot of intensity," said LMU head coach Krystal Evans. "We came out aggressive, and talking, and executed our game plan and had an overall really good team win."

Emily Griffith led the way with another career-high as she had 23 points off of 10-18 shooting from the field, and a pair of three-pointers in addition to seven assists. Not to be outdone, her twin sister Rachel chipped in 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Maggie Jachimczuk came off the bench and added in 12 points and four rebounds. Addi Kirkpatrick led all players with eight rebounds.

"She (Emily Griffith) was aggressive both outside and inside and she did a lot of good things for us," said Evans.

As a team, LMU once again torched the nets from outside as they hit 10 or more three-point shots for the fourth consecutive game, this time going 10-18 from behind the arc. They also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 38-32 and forced 15 WU turnovers while having a season-low 11.

Caroline Averette led Wingate with 20 points, followed by 13 from Danasia Witherspoon and 12 from Jordan Quick.

The teams traded baskets before Wingate went ahead 10-7 off a Quick jumper in the paint with 6:38 left in the first quarter. They would not score again until the 5:59 mark of the second quarter on a turnaround jumper, again by Quick. In between LMU went on a tear, scoring 25 unanswered points, including ten by Rachel Griffith. The lead stayed around the 20-point mark for the rest of the half, with a three-pointer by Averette cutting the lead to 42-24 at the half.

Wingate mounted a ferocious comeback, cutting the lead to eight by the end of the third period, but each time they made a run over the final stanza, LMU would have an answer. After the lead was cut to 58-52, Emily Griffith found Jachimczuk open in the right corner for an open three-pointer. Witherspoon then missed a mid-range jumper that was rebounded by Cameryn DuBose, who drove down the court and eventually scored, putting the Lady Railsplitters back up by eleven.

The lead hovered around the nine-to-eleven-point mark for the next four minutes before Taylor Helms scored for the Bulldogs and once again cut the lead to six points. On the ensuing possession, Dasia Maxwell found Kirkpatrick open in the paint and she buried a turnaround hook shot to end the threat. The closest they would come again is seven points in the final 30 seconds, but a Rachel Griffith free throw solidified a three-possession lead for LMU and they held on for the upset win.