HARROGATE, Tenn. – After grabbing the lead midway through the first quarter and putting up the biggest lead anyone has had on third-ranked Carson-Newman all season, the LMU women's basketball team weathered a furious run by the Lady Eagles to hold on for the 89-87 South Atlantic Conference win Wednesday evening.

The win means that should LMU (16-10, 11-8 SAC) win on Saturday against Queens they would likely host a first-round SAC Tournament game next Wednesday, as they would do no worse than tie for fourth place and should win any tie-breakers thanks to tonight's win over Carson-Newman (25-2, 17-2 SAC).

The loss by C-N also sets up a winner-take-all game for the SAC Championship Saturday between Carson-Newman and Wingate in Jefferson City. Wingate came from behind to win 68-54 over the Lady Eagles on Jan. 13.

LMU had six players in double figures for the game, led by Qua Hines with 20 points, including a 6-6 night from the free throw line. Shea Coker and Jordan Brightwell each had 14 points, while Dasia Maxwell chipped in 10 points. Cameryn DuBose had her second double-double of the year with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Emily Griffith had nine assists and five steals.

Haris Price led C-N with 27 points. Kayla Marosites had 19 points and eight rebounds while the SAC scoring leader, Mika Wester, had 18 points. Briana Smith chipped in 14 points.

In their loss at Jefferson City on Jan.17, LMU shot a season high 51.6 percent from the field. They nearly matched that tonight, going 35-68 for 51.5 percent. They hit 21.4 percent of their three-pointers and shot 84.2 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Railsplitters out-rebounded the Lady Eagles by a 45-35 margin, which converted to 20 second-chance points for the Blue and Gray. LMU's bench also out-scored C-N's by a 41-9 margin.

LMU's defensive pressure meant that the Lady Eagles, who lead the SAC with a 47.7 field goal percentage, were held to only 38.9 percent (28-72) from the field. They hit nine of 24 three-pointers and were 84.6 percent from the free throw line.

C-N went out to the early 4-0 lead and held that advantage until baskets from Ross Mathis and Griffith tied the game at 6-6. After tying the game again a few minutes later, LMU used baskets from DuBose, Griffith and Brightwell to take the 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Eagles cut the lead to 16-15 early in the second quarter before back to back baskets from Coker and Brightwell put LMU ahead 20-15. C-N would tie the game again at 26-26 before LMU went on another 5-0 run. The pattern would repeat itself several times throughout the remainder of the half, with LMU taking a five point lead and Carson-Newman cutting it to one. Free throws by Smith would do just that with 58 second left, making the lead 35-34 before Hines hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining. Wester attempted a three pointer as time expired with Mathis rebounding, but Kelci Marosites was called for the foul on the rebound and Mathis hit both to give LMU the 39-34 lead at the half.

The Lady Railsplitters came out in the third quarter and slowly extended their lead to 14 points, 63-49, with 1:50 remaining. Kayla Marosites would then score five points to cut the lead to 63-54 heading into the fourth quarter.

C-N cut the lead to 70-57 with 8:45 left only to see a Hines jumper spark a 6-0 LMU run that extended the lead to 19 points. The Lady Eagles are the third-ranked team in the country because of their high powered offense, which caught fire over the last 7:30 of the game as they whittled away at the LMU lead.

Carson-Newman started the comeback with a 12-4 run over a three minute span. The Lady Eagles cut the lead to nine points three times, only to see LMU score to put it back to 11 points. Price then hit a three-pointer, followed by a pair of free throws from Wester that cut the lead to six with 2:51 remaining. Griffith scored on LMU's next possession to make the score 86-78, but Price then took the inbounds pass and drove it in for the easy lay-up with 2:20 left, cutting the lead to 86-80.

Kayla Stubblefield then blocked Griffith's driving lay-up attempt and then found Price open for a clutch three-pointer, cutting the LMU lead to 86-83 with just under two minutes remaining. LMU called timeout, and on the next possession Brightwell got the ball in the paint and was fouled. She hit both shots to put the lead back at five. Both teams missed shots on their next possessions before Price hit a layup to cut the lead to three.

Hines took the inbound pass and was tripped up crossing the mid-court line, but was called for the charge with 25 seconds remaining. Wester then hit a contested jumper from just past the free throw line, cutting the lead to 88-87 with 14 seconds remaining. LMU called timeout to advance the ball, but turned it over on the inbounds pass. Stubblefield then missed a lay-up that was rebounded by DuBose with six seconds left, forcing C-N to foul. DuBose then hit one of two free throws to give LMU the slim 89-87 margin. Price was driving for the potential game-tying shot when Griffith stole the ball at the free throw line to seal the LMU win.

Quick Hits
- LMU improves to 45-49 all-time vs. Carson-Newman. LMU has won nine of the last 12 meetings.

- The win also improves LMU to 27-19 all time in Harrogate vs. C-N and 16-7 in the Tex Turner Arena. Carson-Newman has not won in Harrogate since Shannon Depew hit a driving jump shot with one second left to outlast LMU 74-72 on Jan. 25, 2012.

- The 19 point lead in the second half was the largest deficit the third-ranked Lady Eagles have faced all season.

- Coming into tonight C-N had trailed only 77 minutes all season – tonight LMU led for 32:21.

Up Next
LMU will host Queens Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the regular season finale. It will be Senior Day for Shea Coker, Ross Mathis and Karsen Sims. Along with the men's no. 1 vs. 2 matchup, Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN 3 as part of the NCAA's DII Basketball Showcase series. Admission to both games will be free.