HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team will step out of conference for the last time in the regular season as they host Tennessee Wesleyan Tuesday evening in the Tex Turner Arena. This will be the first time in almost 28 years (10, 213 days, to be exact) that the Bulldogs have played LMU.

LMU comes into the contest with a 13-10 overall record and a 9-8 record in South Atlantic Conference play. They lost at 21st ranked Wingate Saturday 70-59.

In that game, LMU had a lead entering the fourth quarter, but cold shooting down the stretch combined with the Bulldogs heating up from the field doomed the Lady Railsplitters' upset hopes as Wingate used a 10-0 mid-quarter run to pull away.

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.

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 TENNESSEE WESLEYAN
· The Bulldogs are currently 17-9 on the season and have a 16-7 record in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. They are currently in fourth place in the league. Tonight will be their penultimate regular season game, followed by a meeting at third-place Point University Saturday afternoon.

· Jeff Rice is in his twelfth season as head coach at TWU. His record is 236-111.

· Hunter Simpson leads the Bulldogs in scoring, averaging 19.2 points a game. She also leads the team in assists and steals. Madison Walkup is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 a game; while also leading the team in rebounding with a 7.0 rebounds per game average. Walkup has hit 65 three-pointers this season.

· As a team, TWU is averaging 67.6 points a game while giving up 62.8 points per game for a scoring margin of +4.8. Rebounding is a similar story as they have out-rebounded opponents 789-670 on the season. They lead the AAC in defensive rebounds a game and are second in rebound margin.

SERIES HISTORY
· LMU leads the series 34-21. The two teams have not played since LMU joined the NCAA in 1990. LMU has a 19-7 record in Harrogate. This will be TWU's first appearance in the Tex Turner Arena.

· The two teams played for many years in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. When both brought basketball back in the mid-1970s, they played every year from 1978-1990.

· The last meeting between the two was on Feb. 27, 1990 in the Mary Mars Gym in the NAIA District 24 East Division Championship. LMU rolled out to a 45-29 lead at the half and then held the Bulldogs to only 33 second half points as they coasted to the 105-72 win, their 26th of the season.
Debbie Green led LMU with 23 points, including an impressive 11-11 performance at the free throw line. Robin Adams had 16 points, Amy Carlyle chipped in 14 points and a game-high six rebounds, Pam Walters scored 11 points, and Laura Winters and Monica Owens had 10 points each. Owens also had eight assists.

Tennessee Wesleyan was led by Renee Bowman's 20 points. Holly Harper also had 11 points.

· When LMU brought back women's basketball full-time in the 1970s, they joined the men's programs in what was then the Volunteer State Athletic Conference. The VSAC at the time was set up in East and West Divisions, with LMU being in the East. In the mid-1980s the East Division became the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference, with the West becoming the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference. Both had "conference" tournaments, which were actually the NAIA District 24 East and West Division championships, with the respective winners meeting for the NAIA National Tournament bid. From 1986-91, LMU won the District 24 East Championship each season (and were runners-up from 1984-86). Each time they would fall in the District 24 title game.

LMU left the TVAC in 1989 to begin the process of joining the NCAA Division II. After UVa-Wise and Virginia Intermont joined the TVAC later on, it became known as the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference before changing its name in 2001 to the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Some other current and former members of the now-AAC that LMU played were UVa-Wise, Carson-Newman, Tusculum, King, Milligan, and Tennessee Wesleyan.

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 72-42 overall record.

· Shea Coker leads the team in scoring (both two- and three-point) and rebounding and steals as she has a 13.5 point, 4.6 rebound and a 1.8 steal a game average. She currently leads the SAC in three-point percentage and is fifth in steals, eighth in made three-pointers, ninth in offensive rebounds, tenth in points per game, and eleventh in total points.

· Rachel Griffith is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game. She also second on the team in assists and ranks third in the SAC in three-point percentage.

· Emily Griffith closely trails her sister in scoring, averaging 10.0 points a game, and ranks fifth in the SAC in free throw percentage. She is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game.

· Qua Hines is averaging 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game

· Cameryn DuBose is averaging 4.3 rebounds a game.

· Ross Mathis is the team leader in assists and is second in made three-pointers. She also ranks fourth in the SAC in assist to turnover ratio.

· As a team, LMU is averaging 72.3 points a game while holding opponents to 67.0. They are out-rebounding opponents by a +5.3 margin. They lead the SAC in offensive rebounds per game; are third in points per game, made field goals per game, made three-pointers per game, three-point percentage, total rebounds per game, rebound margin per game, assists per game, and steals per game; and they are fourth in total points and free throw percentage.

· LMU also ranks tenth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game, 20th in three-point percentage, 63rd in turnovers forced, 50th in rebound margin, 44th in assists per game, 68th in rebounds per game, 89th in steals per game, 56th in total assists, 68th in scoring offense, and 100th in free throw percentage. Shea Coker is ranked in six national categories, Ross Mathis and is listed in three categories, Emily Griffith is in two and Qua Hines is ranked in free throw percentage.

RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Shea Coker currently has 1,114 points and is in 15th place in the all-time scoring list. She trails #14 Robin Cox (1992-96) by 29 points. There are several other players hovering around the 450-point mark; Ross Mathis has 481 and ranks 61st. Emily Griffith is close behind in 62nd with 479 points. Mathis trails Kalasia Green (2012-14) by six points. Rachel Griffith has moved to 68th with 459 career points. Karsen Sims has 416 and is 72nd.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Coker is currently 12th on the made field goals list with 432 field goals. She trails Robin Cox (1992-96) by 26. Coker also ranks 15th in career field goal percentage, hitting 47.7 percent of her field goals.
 
· THREE-POINTERS - Coker is ranked fifth in made treys with 134. Ross Mathis is in sixth place with 123. Coker trails fourth place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 29 while Mathis trails Coker by 11. In attempts, Mathis is fifth on the list with 354, while Coker is eighth with 301. Mathis trails fifth-place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 65. Coker is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .445 percentage, while Mathis is eleventh with 34.7%. Also ranked in the top 50 on the made three-pointer list are Rachel Griffith (21st), Karsen Sims (24th) and Sydney Duggins (39th).
 
· REBOUNDS – Shea Coker is in 45th place with 293. She needs one to tie Lakeshia Salters (1999-00).
 
· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis is 20th in career assists with 195 and now trails Liz McQueen (1980-84) by 22. 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 43rd place with 132.
 
· STEALS –Rachel Griffith is in 44th place with 82 career steals while Emily is in 46th with 77. Teammate Ross Mathis is in 53rd place. Rachel needs just one steal to tie #43 Madeline Richards (2003-07) and Isabel Gonzalez (1997-99).