HARROGATE, Tenn. - In a back and forth battle inside B. Frank 'Tex" Turner Arena, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team (9-10) defeated Coker 80-66 for their first postseason home victory since Feb. 28, 2018. With the win, the Lady Railsplitters advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Women's Basketball Championships and will take on number one seed Carson-Newman Monday evening.

Scoring 51 points in the second half, LMU responded after a sluggish opening half that saw neither team able to hit 30 points. Although the Cobras made three more three pointers than the Lady Railsplitters, LMU countered with dominance in the painted area and excelled from the free throw line as they made 89 percent of their attempts (16-18).

The first quarter got off to a very slow start as the score was 6-4 at the first media timeout of the contest. Lauren Flowers contributed heavily to the opening baskets with an offensive rebound, a steal, and two baskets in that time frame. Lexi Kiser's five quick points then extended the Lady Railsplitter lead to 11-7 and another Flowers jumper proved to be the difference in an opening period that saw LMU leading 13-11.

After each time scored twice, an Abigail Keesling three pointer gave the Cobras their first lead of the day early in the second quarter. The lead went back and forth until two Mikayla Kuehne free throws and a Jordan Maney three gave LMU a four point lead. Coker then scored five of the final seven points to draw within one at the halftime break.

Lindsay Proffitt and Flowers scored five consecutive points to open the third period, and the Lady Railsplitters continued to play well offensively from there on out. After a Raya Coley basket saw Coker back within four points, layups by Maggie Jachimczuk and Maney extended the lead to eight. Three more Maney baskets down low asserted her dominance and the result was a 44-32 LMU lead with five and a half minutes to play in the quarter. The Cobras responded with back-to-back-to-back three pointers to get within three, but another Proffitt three, a Maney free throw, and a Flowers jumper gave the Lady Railsplitters a 50-41 lead. The teams then traded baskets and LMU led 52-43 going into the final ten minutes of play.

Coker got within seven on a Valicia Demeritte layup on a fast break, although a Flowers three pointer saw LMU's lead get back to double digits. The teams traded baskets shortly thereafter, but a Jachimczuk layup and a Kiser three provided the Lady Railsplitters with a 63-49 margin with just under six minutes to play. The Cobras battled hard to the end, although it wasn't enough as LMU outscored them 17-15 down the stretch, hitting several free throws in the last few minutes of the game.

Kuehne and Maney tied for game-high scoring honors with 16 points each as Kuehne sank 6-6 from the free throw line. Kiser and Flowers each had 14 points and Jachimczuk rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten. Kiser's seven points and five assists on the afternoon were both team highs, while Flowers took the steals crown with three and had an efficient 6-8 shooting performance.

LMU will look to defeat Carson-Newman for the second time this season as they travel to Jefferson City on Mar. 1. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.