HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU women's basketball team will play their second game in three days as they host local rival and future South Atlantic Conference foe The University of Virginia's College at Wise Monday evening in the Tex Turner Arena.

LMU is currently 6-6 on the season and 3-3 in SAC play following a close loss to Newberry Saturday afternoon. They have lost three in a row since upsetting 20th ranked Wingate on December 15.

The Highland Cavaliers are 5-6 on the year and 3-3 in the Mountain East Conference. This is their final go-around in the MEC as UVa-Wise will officially become a full member of the SAC on July 1.

In Saturday's game, Newberry started strong out of the gate and rushed out to a big lead. LMU battled back over the second half and cut the lead to two with less than five minutes remaining, but Newberry hit free throws down the stretch to escape the Turner Arena with the 95-88 win.

Emily Griffith led the way with a career-high 33 points, becoming only the third player in the Krystal Evans era to score 30 or more points in a game. Rachel Griffith chipped in 17 points, Lindsay Proffitt added in 15 points and Maggie Jachimczuk had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Following this game, LMU will host future SAC member and local rival UVa-Wise on Monday. The Highland Cavaliers are currently 5-6 on the year after a loss to King on Dec. 29.
 
SERIES HISTORY
· LMU leads the series 19-5. The teams have met 13 times in Harrogate, with the lone win by the Cavaliers coming in January or February of 1978. There were two long periods where the two schools didn't play, from 1989-96 and from 2001-17.

· UVa-Wise is one of only two schools that LMU has faced four times in a season, with the other being Wingate in the 2016-17 season. The main difference is that two of the games against Wingate were in post-season play, while the games against Clinch Valley (as UVa-Wise was called until 1999) were all regular season games in the 1973-74 season. Remarkably, they played four times over an 18-day period and alternated sites with the first and third games in Wise's Greear Gym and the other games played in LMU's Mary Mars Gym.

· UVa-Wise is joining the SAC next season, so this rivalry will probably get a much-needed boost.

· In their last meeting, on Nov. 15, 2017 in Wise, LMU grabbed a double-digit lead only to see the Cavs storm back in the third quarter to take the lead. The teams then traded the lead several times and tie the game 15 times before a pair of free throws from Cynita Webb put Wise ahead by three with three seconds left. LMU was unable to get a shot off before time expired and the Cavs held on for the 83-80 win, their first over LMU since a 93-70 win at Wise on Dec. 4, 1978. Rachel Griffith led LMU with 15 points and three assists while Emily chipped in 13 points. Shea Coker had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Wise had five players in double figures, led by Bianca Lockamy's 13 points. Webb had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

· The last meeting in Harrogate was on Nov. 29, 2001. LMU took advantage of a late first-half run to lead by 10 at the half and never looked back in the 90-63 win. Karra Jackson led LMU with 15 points, followed by Hillary Ross' 13 points and Ashley Cox with 10. Ross and Jennifer Childs had six rebounds apiece. Lauren Carr led the Cavs with 23 points.
 
GETTING WISE
· The Highland Cavaliers are currently 5-6 overall and have not played since falling to King 62-54 on Dec. 29. They have not had any back-to-back wins or losses this season, instead alternating between the two. King is the only common opponent the schools have, and the Cavs have fallen to the Tornado twice this season.

· Cynita Webb leads the team in both scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (10.8) and ranks fourth in the MEC in rebounds. Hannah Oliver is averaging 10.5 points a game and leads the team in assists with 3.3 a game.

· As a team, the Cavs are being out-scored by their opponents 69.5 to 66.5 points a game, but are out-rebounding their opponents by a +4.1 margin.

· UVa-Wise is next to last in the MEC in scoring, but are second in field goal percentage defense and rebounding offense and third in scoring defense.

· Head Coach Jamie Cluesman is in her first season at Wise and as a head coach. She is definitely no stranger to LMU as in some ways you can't spell "Cluesman" without "LMU". The Lee County native is probably the first person in history to attend basketball camps at LMU, play against the Lady Railsplitters while she was a student-athlete at Concord, coach against them as an assistant coach (also at Concord) and now coach against them. It could be said that she has been in the Tex Turner Arena more times than LMU's freshmen class.

· Other people on the Wise roster with ties to LMU are assistant coach Jacqueline Kestner, who was a graduate assistant here from 2016-18 while Dakotah Turner is from Tazewell and Mackenzie King is from Harlan and both players almost certainly attended camps at LMU as both their high school teams are longtime fixtures in LMU's team camps.

· The two schools have many close ties, but the biggest (and longest-lasting) one is "Papa Joe" Smiddy, who was a 1947 graduate of LMU and the first Chancellor at then-Clinch Valley College, He served there in that capacity for 30 years and was also a trustee at LMU. He has a campus road, the administrative building, and the UVa-Wise mascot all named after him.
 
SCOUTING LMU
· Head Coach Krystal Evans is in her fifth season at LMU. She has an 83-49 overall record.
 
· LMU is seeing double as both Emily Griffith and her twin sister Rachel currently lead the team in scoring, with Emily narrowly edging out Rachel 15.6 points a game to 13.5. Emily is also averaging 3.8 assists a game while Rachel is averaging 1.8 steals a game. Dasia Maxwell and Sydney Duggins each have 8.5 points a game.
 
· Shermeria Quarles leads the team in rebounds average-wise with 5.7 a game, while freshman Sydney Newsome has a 5.3 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 46.9 percent. Lindsay Proffitt is third with a 43.8 percentage, Rachel Griffith is 13th and Dasia Maxwell is 15th.
 
· As a team, LMU is averaging 75.7 points a game while holding opponents to 75.1. They are out-rebounding opponents by a margin of +5.7 a game.
 
· LMU leads the SAC in three-point percentage and offensive rebounds per game. They are second in field goals (made and attempts) per game. They rank third in points, points per game and total rebounds per game; and rank rebound margin.
 
RECORD WATCH
· POINTS –Emily Griffith became 37th to pass the 700 points mark with her 33 points against Newberry.  She currently has 729 points and trails Karmella Wynne (2001-04) by 26 points. Rachel Griffith isn't far behind at 42nd with 646 points.
 
· FIELD GOALS – Emily Griffith is 34th with 276 while Rachel Griffith is 50th. Dasia Maxwell is in 77th place.
 
· THREE-POINTERS – Rachel Griffith ranks 13th in made three pointers with 75 and trails Katrina Ottesen (2013-15) by 14. Sydney Duggins ranks 25th, while Dasia Maxwell is in 36th place. Emily Griffith is in 58th place.
 
· FREE THROWS – Emily Griffith is in 33rd place with 161 free throws. She needs one to tie Rachel Peach (1981-85). Rachel Griffith is in 41st place with 133 and Qua Hines is tied for 70th place.
 
· REBOUNDS – Emily Griffith is 65th with 231 rebounds. She needs two to tie Ralissa Nelson (2011-13) for 63rd place. Dasia Maxwell is 82nd, Rachel Griffith is in 91st place and Cameron DuBose is close behind at 95th. 

· ASSISTS – Emily Griffith is in 23rd place with 185 assists and needs two to tie Lori Neely (1985-89) and Rachel Peach (1981-85) for 21st. Rachel Griffith is 33rd with 149 and needs one to tie Hillary Ross (2001-04). Dasia Maxwell is in 83rd place.
 
· STEALS –Emily Griffith has 123 career steals, placing her at 21st. She needs one to tie Amanda Jackson (1997-2001). Rachel Griffith is tied for 31st place with 104.