MARS HILL, N.C. - In their penultimate road game of the 2019-20 season, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball squad put forth one of their most prolific offensive performances of the year Wednesday night, handling a motivated Mars Hill group, 78-56 inside Stanford Arena.

Four Lady Railsplitter starters reached double figures in the scoring department, led by 18 from redshirt-sophomore Lexi Kiser, who drained six three-pointers in the 22-point route.

When LMU (10-13, 9-10 SAC) first met the Lions in Harrogate back on January 15^th, the Lady Railsplitters matched a season-high in points with 76, while connecting on 50% of their attempts from the field. On Wednesday, Lincoln Memorial reached that exact same figure of shooting percentage, while besting their point total from round one by two points.

Not only were the Lady Railsplitters virtually unstoppable from two-point territory, but they were able to reach the victory thanks to their red-hot performance from deep, hitting 14 of their 31 tries from long distance, amounting to a 45% clip from downtown.

In terms of percentage statistics, LMU's performance from three-point land was only bested this season by a 61% showing at Coker in late November, making eight of 13 attempts. This time around, Lincoln Memorial posted a more sizable advantage in that category, holding the Lions to 37% from the floor on a 27% clip from deep.

Kiser was the driving force behind the Lady Railsplitters' scorching effort from three-point territory, although she wasn't the only one who cashed in on the long-ball. Fellow redshirt-sophomore Sydney Newsome, who landed 13 points in the blowout, nailed all three of her shots from three, while Kyndall Caudle and Lindsey Proffitt drained a pair each.

Newsome added four rebounds, as well as four assists, to her stat sheet-stuffing performance, with Proffitt contributing 12 points, and true freshman point guard Lauren Flowers adding 11 points, a team-best eight boards, and three helpers.

The opening frame was a consistent one for LMU, who outgained Mars Hill (3-22, 1-18 SAC) 19-15 across the first 10 minutes. The Lady Railsplitters began to distance themselves from the Lions before halftime, turning that four-point advantage into a 15-point cushion at the break thanks to a 25-point second quarter, just two shy of matching the team's highest output for a single stanza this season.

After outscoring Mars Hill 21-13 across the third, that 23-point lead enabled Lincoln Memorial to put it on cruise control for the remainder of the evening.

Nearly half of LMU's makes from the field came from long range, with 14 of the team's 30 connections coming by virtue of the three-ball. Turning the Lions over 14 times while dishing out 17 assists as a team, the Lady Railsplitters executed one of their most top notch performances of 2020 from an offensive standpoint, completing a season sweep over the last place squad in the South Atlantic Conference standings.

The Lions were just four days removed from snapping a 17-game conference losing skid after pulling off a stunning victory against Wingate. Lincoln Memorial ensured that MH wouldn't be carrying that momentum into Wednesday, completing a second consecutive win over Mars Hill, which combined with their 29-point margin of victory from earlier in the year, amounts to 51 points altogether.

LMU controlled the rebounding department all night long against the Lions, pulling down 42 boards in comparison to Mars Hill's 27. The Lady Railsplitters used that commanding edge on the glass to outgain MH in second-chance opportunities as well.

Taming the Lions for the 10^th consecutive time, extending the longest winning streak in the series, Lincoln Memorial hasn't been defeated by Mars Hill in over four years, with the last occasion happening in January of 2016.

LMU made sure that streak rolled on Wednesday night, still sitting in a tie for the sixth place slot in the latest SAC standings with Wingate. If the Lady Railsplitters were to stay locked with the Bulldogs by season's end, LMU would own that tiebreaker, seeing as how they defeated Wingate in both meetings earlier this season.

After dropping a nine-point decision to Newberry last weekend at home, which sealed a sweep for the Wolves over them, Lincoln Memorial emphatically bounced back in a hostile environment, dealing out a sweep of their own over Mars Hill.
 
Up Next
 
Only three games remain on the regular season schedule, with only one of them being on the road. That final road outing is up next for the Lady Railsplitters, who venture to Salisbury, North Carolina this Saturday to face off with the Catawba Indians inside Goodman Gymnasium.

Beginning the season riding a monstrous wave of momentum, Catawba strolled into Tex Turner Arena on January 11^th as the # 14 team in the nation and the South Atlantic Conference's top dog. On that date, Lincoln Memorial came inches away from pulling off the upset, dropping a 60-56 decision that came right down to the wire.

The Indians will host LMU Saturday as the second-place team in the league at 15-4 in conference meetings, just one behind the leading Anderson Trojans. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 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 more LMU women's basketball coverage across the 2019-20 season.