HARROGATE, Tenn. – LMU led from wire to wire as they pulled away early and never looked back in the 82-65 South Atlantic Conference win over Mars Hill Wednesday evening in the Tex Turner Arena.

LMU (14-11, 9-8 SAC) opened up with eight unanswered points over the Lions (1-21, 0-17 SAC), who have been hit hard by injuries this season and are only fielding eight players. The Lady Railsplitters used the opportunity to spread playing time around, with 12 players scoring.

Emily and Rachel Griffith each netted 17 in their penultimate home game, with Rachel having a very efficient evening as she went 5-7 from the field, 3-3 from three-point range and 4-4 from the free throw line in addition to six assists and three steals. Emily also had a nice evening, going 5-6 from the free throw line and having two assists, two steals, and a monster block. Lindsay Proffitt chipped in nine points, while Kai Wesemann had a career night on the boards with nine rebounds.

After opening up with the 8-0 start, LMU steadily extended the lead, leading by as much as 18 after one quarter and by as much as 23 in the second quarter before the Lions cut the lead to 41-24 at the half.

The Lions made a run mid-way through the third quarter to cut the lead to 51-41, but Rachel Griffith hit a three-pointer on the next LMU possession and the Lions never seriously threatened for the rest of the game.

Alexis Pardue led MHU with 20 points, while Mariah Johnson scored 16 off the bench and Baylea Loven chipped in 12 points.

The Lions actually shot a slightly better percentage from the field than LMU, out-shooting them 40.7 percent to 37.5 percent. LMU did win the battle of the boards by a 47-43 margin.

Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters host Catawba Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. It will be Senior Day, and LMU will honor Emily Griffith, Rachel Griffith, Dasia Maxwell, Kai Wesemann and Sydney Duggins for their contributions to the team over the past four years.

Quick Facts
-LMU improves to 21-11 all-time vs. Mars Hill and extends their winning streak over the Lions to eight games.

-Every player who dressed out got a rebound in the game.

-With all the talk about them being identical, this is only the fifth time in their careers that the Griffith twins have scored the same exact number of points in a game – and the second time they did it against Mars Hill.