HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team returns to the road for two key SAC games this week. First up is Anderson Wednesday at 6 p.m., followed by a trip to Wingate for a Saturday afternoon matchup.

LMU enters the game at 13-8 overall on the season and 9-6 in SAC play and in fifth place in the SAC standings. Anderson is close behind at sixth with a 14-8 overall record and an 8-6 record in the conference.

The Lady Railsplitters used a 19-6 third quarter run to break open what was once a one point lead and coasted to the 83-69 win over Newberry Saturday afternoon. Shea Coker led LMU with 20 points and also had six rebounds and two blocks. Qua Hines came off the bench to score 15 points, including an 8-10 performance from the free throw line. Emily Griffith scored 11 points and had five rebounds while Ross Mathis had 10 points and seven assists. Jordan Brightwell had a game-high seven rebounds.

The loss spoiled a career night for Newberry's Meg Essex, who had a career-high 34 points to lead all scorers for the Wolves. Samara Hill chipped in 10 points while Shelby Britten had nine points and eight assists. Hannah Lepaio led the Wolves on the boards with six rebounds.

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 ANDERSON
· Compared to Anderson teams of the past, this year's squad is not as high-powered offensively but probably stronger in the paint. The current iteration is one of those teams that dominate in rebounding and pull away late in the contest by wearing down the opposition and hitting their free throws.

· Jonathon Barbaree is in his second year as head coach of the Trojans and his fourth season overall as a head coach. He has a 35-14 record at Anderson and a 59-50 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.

· Alexis Dillard is leading the team in scoring and rebounding with an 11.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game average. Alexy Mollenhauer is close behind with 11.0 points a game. Ace Easter is averaging 10.6 points a game.

· As a team, the Trojans are outscoring their opponents by a 69.9 points a game to a 59.6 points a game margin. They are also out-rebounding opponents by a 9.1 margin. AU leads the SAC in defensive rebounds per game, total rebounds and rebound margin. They are also tops in the SAC in blocks per game, fouls per game and opponents field goal percentage and are second in points per game allowed.

SERIES HISTORY
· AU leads the series 12-6. The Lady Railsplitters are 4-5 against the Trojans in Harrogate.

· 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.

Erika Martin led the Trojans with 12 points and eight rebounds. Alexy Mollenhauer also chipped in 11 points.

· In the last meeting in Anderson on Jan. 11, 2012, LMU used a dominating 53-38 margin in rebounding and a 20-11 run to close out the game and claim the 67-58 win. Megan Pittman scored 19 points to lead LMU in scoring. She also had 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 38 minutes of action. Josey Harding had 18 points and a game-high 23 rebounds, becoming the first player in LMU history to have three 20+ rebound games in their career. Shea Coker added in 14 points, including a pair of key three-pointers.

Anderson was led by Jasmine Franklin, who had 11 points and five rebounds.

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 72-40 overall record.

· Shea Coker leads the team in scoring (both two- and three-point) and rebounding and steals as she has a 13.7 point, 4.8 rebound and a 1.7 steal a game average. She currently leads the SAC in three-point percentage and is eighth in offensive rebounds and made three-pointers, and eleventh in points per game.

· Rachel Griffith is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.8 points per game. She also leads the team lead in assists and ranks fifth in the SAC in three-point percentage and ninth in free throw percentage.

· Emily Griffith closely trails her sister in scoring, averaging 10.0 points a game, and ranks fourth in the SAC in free throw percentage. She is also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game.

· Qua Hines is averaging 8.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game

· Cameryn DuBose is averaging 3.9 rebounds a game.

· Ross Mathis is tied with Coker as the team leader in three-point shooting as both senior guards have hit 38 on the season.

· As a team, LMU is averaging 73.4 points a game while holding opponents to 66.7. They are out-rebounding opponents by a +6.7 margin. They lead the SAC in offensive rebounds per game; are third in total points, free throw percentage, points per game, made field goals per game, made three-pointers per game, three-point percentage, rebound margin per game, assists per game, and steals per game; and they are fourth in total rebounds per game.

· LMU also ranks ninth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game, 29th in three-point percentage, 51st in turnovers forced, 31st in rebound margin, 40th in assists per game, 52nd in rebounds per game, 75th in steals per game, 56th in total assists, 62nd in scoring offense, and 74th in free throw percentage. Shea Coker is ranked in seven national categories, Ross Mathis is listed in two, and Emily Griffith and Qua Hines are ranked in free throw percentage.

RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Shea Coker currently has 1,090 points and is in 17th place in the all-time scoring list. She trails #16 Bridget Long (1990-94) by 16 points and Megan Pittman (2014-17) by 18. There are several other players hovering around the 450-point mark; Ross Mathis has 472 and ranks 64th. Emily Griffith is 67th with 459 points. Mathis trails Jill Cox (1985-86, 87-88) by two points. Rachel Griffith has moved to 69th with 445 career points. Karsen Sims has 416 and is 72nd.

· FIELD GOALS – Coker is currently 13th on the made field goals list with 422 field goals. She trails Maddie Richards (2003-07) by five. 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 130. Ross Mathis on Jan. 17 became the tenth Lady Railsplitter to hit over 100 career treys (Coker did it against UVa-Wise back in November) and is now sixth with 120. Coker trails fourth place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 33 while Mathis trails Coker by ten. In attempts, Mathis is sixth on the list with 347, while Coker is ninth with 293.  Mathis trails fifth-place Heather Brown (352) by five. Coker is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .444 percentage, while Mathis is 11th with 34.6%. 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 tied for 47th place with Candice Rose (2003-06) as each has 287. She needs three to tie Marcie Stout (1981-85).

· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis is 20th in career assists with 190 and now trails Liz McQueen (1980-84) by 27. 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 a tie for 43rd place with Celine Cloutier (1994-96) as both have 130.

· STEALS – People must have to lock up their basketballs in Roane County as both of the Griffiths are creeping up the all-time steals list. Rachel is in 45th place with 78 career steals while Emily is in 48th with 75. (The "third Griffith", a.k.a. their cousin Sydney Duggins, is in 123rd place.) Teammate Ross Mathis is in 53rd place. Rachel needs just one steal to pass #44 Sheila Whitehead (1984-86).