HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitter basketball team will play in their final game before Christmas as they make the trip to Anderson, South Carolina to face Anderson University Wednesday evening at 6 p.m..

LMU is currently 6-3 on the season and sits in third place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 3-1 record in SAC play following their 75-67 win over 20th-ranked Wingate Saturday afternoon. In that game, LMU put together one of their best halves of the season as they went on a 25-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a 42-24 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs rallied and took advantage of some LMU mistakes to mount a comeback, but the Lady Railsplitters had some key baskets down the stretch, including two from Maggie Jachimczuk, to seal the win.

Emily Griffith led the way with 23 points, setting a new career high off of 10-18 shooting from the field and also dishing out seven assists. Rachel Griffith added in 17 points and Jachimczuk chipped in 12. Addi Kirkpatrick led the team with eight rebounds. Caroline Averette led Wingate with 20 points.

For her efforts in both the Wingate game and the earlier game against Tennessee Wesleyan, where she scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Emily Griffith was named the Astroturf SAC Player of the Week Monday morning. It is the first time she has earned that honor and she is the first LMU player since Qua Hines last season to garner the honor.

Following this game, LMU take a few days off for Christmas before playing at Clayton State on Dec. 31.

SERIES HISTORY
· LMU trails in the series 13-6. The teams have split the last four meetings. LMU is 2-7 in Anderson with their last win there coming on Jan. 11, 2017.
 
· In their last meeting, on Feb. 7, 2018 in Anderson, LMU grabbed the lead late in the first quarter and held it the rest of the half. They regained it again after AU opened the third quarter on a small run, but a couple of three-pointers late gave the Trojans a six point lead and they held on for the 70-63 win.

Qua Hines led LMU with 16 points and Shea Coker chipped in 13. AU had three players in double figures and out-rebounded LMU 41-32.

· The last meeting between the two was on Jan. 3 in Harrogate. Anderson had an eight point lead at the half, but the Lady Railsplitters started the third quarter with an 11-2 run and eventually led by seven at the end of the period. The Trojans then chipped away at the lead and had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but it fell short and LMU held on for the 71-68 comeback win.

Emily Griffith and Shea Coker each led LMU with 16 points apiece. Ross Mathis chipped in 12 points while Jordan Brightwell had seven rebounds to lead the team.
 
SCOUTING ANDERSON
· The Trojans are currently tied for the SAC lead with Newberry and are 8-2 overall and 3-0 in SAC play.

· Alexy Mollenhauer leads AU and the SAC in points (18.4) and rebounds (12.1) a game. Ace Easter is averaging 18.1 points a game as well.

· As a team, the Trojans are outscoring by their opponents by a 74.3-61.7 points a game margin. They are also out-rebounding their opponents by a 12.7 rebound per game average. They also have a 16.4 turnovers a game average.

· Jonathon Barbaree is in his third year as head coach of the Trojans and his fifth season overall as a head coach. He has a 49-20 record at Anderson and a 63-55 overall record. Barbaree came to AU following a two-year stint at the College of Coastal Georgia. His replacement there was former LMU coach Roger Hodge, who came out of retirement to take the position.

· AU leads the SAC in rebounding and is second in both scoring and turnovers.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fifth season at LMU. She has an 83-46 overall record.
 
· LMU is seeing double as both Emily Griffith and her twin sister Rachel currently lead the team in scoring, with Rachel narrowly edging out Emily 13.7 points a game to 13.4. Emily is also averaging 4.3 assists a game while Rachel is averaging 1.9 steals a game. Dasia Maxwell has 9.0 points a game while Sydney Duggins has 8.8 a game.
 
· Shermeria Quarles leads the team in rebounds average-wise with 6.1 a game, while freshman Sydney Newsome has a 5.4 per game average with more actual rebounds in more game appearances.
 
· LMU could definitely be considered a three-point shooting team this year as Sydney Duggins leads the SAC in three-point percentage, hitting 46.4 percent. Lindsay Proffitt is is right behind her in second with a 45.8 percentage. Dasia Maxwell is fifth and Rachel Griffith is eighth.
 
· Maggie Jachimczuk leads the SAC in free throw percentage, hitting 56.3 percent.
 
· As a team, LMU is averaging 77.3 points a game while holding opponents to 73.0. They are out-rebounding opponents by a margin of +6.6 a game.
 
· LMU leads the SAC in three-point percentage and offensive rebounds per game. They are second in points per game, made field goals, made three-pointers, field goal attempts, and assists per game. They rank third in points.

 
RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Emily Griffith ranks 40th with 663 points and trails Ninnie Norwood (1990-92) by five points. Rachel Griffith isn't far behind at 45th with 607 points.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Emily Griffith is 38th with 248 while Rachel Griffith is 52nd. Dasia Maxwell is in 80th place.
 
· THREE-POINTERS – Rachel Griffith ranks 15th in made three pointers with 72 and trails the 13th place holders by two. Sydney Duggins ranks 25th, while Dasia Maxwell is in 39th place. Emily Griffith is in 58th place.
 
· FREE THROWS – Emily Griffith is in 39th place with 151 free throws. She needs two to tie Aisjah Lee (2013-15). Rachel Griffith is in 47th place with 121 and Qua Hines is tied for 70th place.

· REBOUNDS – Emily Griffith is 73rd with 218 rebounds. She needs five to tie the three current people in 70th place. Dasia Maxwell is 85th and Cameron DuBose is close behind at 95th. Rachel Griffith is in 96th place.
 
· ASSISTS – Emily Griffith is in 24th place with 178 assists while Rachel is 38th with 140. Qua Hines is in 88th place.
 
· STEALS –Emily Griffith has 115 career steals, placing her at 27th. She needs two to tie Amberly O'Dell (2008-12). Rachel Griffith is tied for 36th place with 99 with former teammate Megan Pittman (2014-17).