HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team will make their third consecutive appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday when they face Carson-Newman at high noon in Greenville, South Carolina.

This is the second year in a row that LMU (18-10) and Carson-Newman (27-2) have met in the semifinal round. Last season, LMU pulled out to a ten point lead in the third quarter and weathered a late run by the Lady Eagles to prevail 72-67.

The winner of Saturday's game will play the winner of the Wingate/Anderson game Sunday at 1 p.m. for the SAC Tournament championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

LMU reached the semifinals after posting an 11-3 run over the last 3:30 of the game to grab the 76-67 win over Catawba Wednesday evening. The Lady Railsplitters never trailed in the game, but the Indians had cut the lead to 65-64 before LMU went on their run.

Playing in her final game in the Tex Turner Arena, senior Shea Coker led the way with 16 points. She also had eight rebounds. Jordan Brightwell notched her first career double-double at LMU with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Dasia Maxwell chipped in 14 points as well. Rachel Griffith scored 10 points and had four assists while Ross Mathis, also appearing for the last time in the Turner Arena, had five points and a team high five assists.

A pair of seniors led Catawba in their final outing as Brianna Hodges had 18 points and Serena Brown had 16 points and six rebounds.

Links to live stats and video of the game are above or on www.lmurailsplitters.com. You can also hear the game on 91.3 WLMU locally or at www.913thegap.com. The video stream can also be found on www.watchespn.com as well as the WatchESPN app for Android, IPhone, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, and other phones/tablets/media devices.

SCOUTING CARSON-NEWMAN
· Top-seeded Carson-Newman is having one of their best seasons in program history as they went 20-2 in conference play to capture the SAC crown. Haris Price was named SAC Co-Player of the Year and the Lady Eagles had four player make the All-SAC teams.
 
· C-N reached the semifinals after using a 12-2 run in the second quarter to pull away from Lenoir-Rhyne and holding on for the 75-63 win Wednesday evening.
 
· The Lady Eagles have four players averaging in double-digit scoring. Haris Price is averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals a game. Kayla Marosites leads the team in rebounding with 10.2 a game while also scoring 12.6 points a game.
 
· As a team, C-N is averaging 93.5 points a game while giving up 66.3 points per game. They are out-rebounding opponents by 7.6 rebounds a game and are out-shooting their competition 47.0 percent to 38.9 percent.
 
SERIES HISTORY
· This will be the 95th all-time meeting between the Lady Railsplitters and the Lady Eagles. LMU trails in the series 45-49 but has won nine out of the last 12 meetings.
 
· In their last meeting in Harrogate on February 21, LMU grabbed the lead late in the first quarter and eventually led by 19 points before seeing C-N rally back to cut the lead to 88-87 with 14 seconds remaining. Cameryn DuBose was fouled and hit one of two free throws. C-N then was driving for a game-tying or game-winning score when Emily Griffith stole the ball as time expired to seal LMU's 89-87 win.

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.
 
· The last meeting between the two in the postseason was in the SAC Tournament semifinals on March 4, 2017 in Greeneville, SC. The teams swapped leads until late in the second quarter, when a Coker jumper gave LMU a two point lead at the half. The Lady Railsplitters extended the lead to as much as ten points in the third quarter and never looked back in the 72-67 win.
 
Karsen Sims led LMU with 18 points, Josey Harding had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Shea Coker had 14 points. 

SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fourth season at LMU. She has a 77-42 overall record and her teams have a 44-11 record in the Tex Turner Arena.
 
· Second-team All-SAC member Shea Coker leads the team in scoring with a 13.2 points a game average. Coker is second on the team in rebounding with 4.5 a game and is second in three-pointers made, trailing Ross Mathis by one.
 
· Rachel Griffith is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game. She was the 2017-18 SAC Statistical Champion in three-point percentage, hitting 45.1 percent.
· Emily Griffith closely trails her sister in scoring, averaging 10.0 points a game, and is second on the team in total points scored with 281. She is also averaging 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals a game. She leads the team in free throws and steals.
 
· SAC Freshman of the Year Qua Hines is averaging 8.9 points (fourth on the team), 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game
 
· Cameryn DuBose leads the team with 4.9 rebounds a game and is the team leader in field goal percentage with 55.6 percent.
 
· Ross Mathis is the team leader in assists (3.1 per game), three-pointers made (48, or 1.8 a game) and three-point attempts (5.4 a game).
 
· Jordan Brightwell is averaging 4.0 rebounds a game.
 
· As a team, LMU is averaging 73.7 points a game while holding opponents to 67.2. They are out-rebounding opponents by a +7.3 margin.
 
· LMU also ranks tenth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game, 23rd in rebound margin, 30th in three-point percentage, 34th in total assists, 38th in assists per game, 42nd in rebounds per game, 45th in total rebounds, 52nd in scoring offense, 59th in turnovers forced, 52nd in total steals, and 63rd in steals per game. Ross Mathis is listed in six categories, including 61st in assist to turnover ratio. Shea Coker is ranked in four national categories, while Emily Griffith is listed in three categories, including 62nd in free throw percentage.
 
· Shea Coker was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District II team. She is the second LMU women's basketball player ever to make the team and the second in two years. Megan Pittman earned All-District and eventually Academic All-America Third Team honors last season. Pittman was one of only two SAC WBB players to make the Academic All-America squads. The other? McKell Oliverio from Queens. Coker is now eligible for the Academic All-America team and the chance to join LMU women's volleyball's Erica Whiteaker in earning Academic All-American of the Year honors.
 
RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Shea Coker currently has 1,175 points and is in 14th place in the all-time scoring list. She trails #13 Marcie Stout (1981-85) by 29 points. Emily Griffith recently passed the 500 point mark and is in 53rd place with 531 points and trails Britney Guy (2012-16) by six points, while Ross Mathis has 515 and ranks 57th. Rachel Griffith has moved to 63rd with 484 career points. Karsen Sims has 416 and is 72nd.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Coker is currently tied for 11th on the made field goals list with Robin Cox (1992-96) with 458 field goals. She trails Marcie Stout by four. Emily Griffith is 54th, Rachel Griffith is 66th and Ross Mathis is 68th. Coker also ranks 15th in career field goal percentage, hitting 47.5 percent of her field goals.
 
· THREE-POINTERS - Coker is ranked fifth in made treys with 139. Ross Mathis is in sixth place with 130. Coker trails fourth place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 24 while Mathis trails Coker by nine. In attempts, Mathis is fifth on the list with 382, while Coker is seventh with 326. Mathis trails fifth-place Karra Jackson (1998-02) by 37. Coker is first on the 3-pt percentage list with a .426 percentage, while Mathis is eleventh with 34.0%. Also ranked in the top 50 on the made three-pointer list are Rachel Griffith (19th), Karsen Sims (24th) and Sydney Duggins (38th).
 
· REBOUNDS – Shea Coker is in 40th place with 318. She needs 12 to tie Ruth Simpson (1992-94) and Sherry Chapman (1986-88).
 
· ASSISTS – Ross Mathis is 20th in career assists with 216 and now trails Liz McQueen (1980-84) by one. Shea Coker is ranked 34th on the list with 140 assists.
 
· STEALS –Emily Griffith has become the 35th Lady Railsplitter to grab 100 career steals as she has an even 100, ranking her 34th. She trails Tammy Shelton (1992-94) by two. Rachel Griffith is in 45th place with 82. Teammate Ross Mathis is in 46th place with 81.