HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team got their season off to an excellent start Saturday afternoon as they defeated Newberry 66-56 at B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena. The win gives new head coach Devan Carter his first win as a Railsplitter.

The game got off to a slow start as neither team scored in the opening possessions. Courtney Virgo started off the scoring for the Wolves as she hit the first of her four three pointers on the afternoon. Lindsay Proffitt tied the game a short while later as she hit the first of three three pointers. Proffitt then hit another three pointer and Lexi Kiser hit a short jumper to give the Lady Railsplitters an 8-3 lead.

A two point basket by Virgo was followed by a Jordan Maney three pointer as the LMU barrage continued early. After the teams traded scores, Kiser hit a three pointer to extend the lead to 15-7. Another Kiser three pointer stretched the lead to 18-9 before the Wolves closed within 20-13 at the end of one.

Newberry went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter to cut the lead to one point and later took a 24-22 lead on a Virgo three pointer. The lead was extended to six before Proffitt hit another three pointer to pull within 28-25. The teams traded baskets back and forth; then Grace Day made a layup to pull within 32-31 at halftime.

The third quarter saw the teams trade baskets once again for the first five minutes. With the scored knotted at 42, two Nakia Weston free throws, a Lauren Flowers layup, a Kiser free throw, and another Flowers layup led to a Newberry timeout with a minute and a half to go. Another Weston layup on a fast break extended the lead to 51-42 as the quarter closed and gave the Lady Railsplitters all the momentum going into the fourth.

Newberry close the lead to 53-47 on a Tyla Stolberg layup and free throw before Maney hit a big three pointer to extend the lead back to nine. The lead stayed within a few possessions until Maney made two free throws to give LMU a 60-49 lead. Although the Wolves tried to come back, they were unable to get closer than seven points down the stretch, and the Lady Railsplitters cruised to the finish of a 66-56 victory.

Maney led the Railsplitter scoring charge with 13 points while Kiser had 12 and Flowers chipped in 10. Addi Kirkpatrick finished with eight points and a team-leading nine rebounds, while Maggie Jachimczuk finished with six points and six rebounds.

Next Up
The Lady Railsplitters will look to continue their winning ways this coming Tuesday as they travel to Hartsville, S.C. to take on the Coker Cobras. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.

How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter basketball during the 2020-21 season.