GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - In an entertaining tournament final that saw LMU with a two point lead at halftime, the Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team fell to Tusculum in the final game of the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Women's Basketball Championship. The loss ends a historical run that saw the Lady Railsplitters become the first eight seed to win a game outside of the play-in round in SAC postseason history. As a result, LMU finishes the first season of the Devan Carter era with an 11-11 record. 

A slow start to the contest saw both teams struggle to establish an early rhythm until Jalia Arnwine broke the drought with a layup two minutes in. Jordan Maney then tied the score and was matched by Maddie Sutton, and the game was off to the races.

Three points by Maney that were sandwiched around a Brianna Dixon layup were followed by a Lindsay Proffitt three pointer that gave LMU their first lead of the contest at 8-6. The next few minutes saw a lot of frantic play but little scoring, and Maney and Sutton matched each other once again to send the teams into the second period deadlocked at 10.

The second quarter saw much more early rhythm as Maney netted a three to give the Lady Railsplitters a three point lead. Dixon and Maney traded layups; then Mya Belton drained a three of her own to tie the game at 15. A Mikayla Kuehne layup and three more points from Maney extended the LMU lead to five, and a three pointer from Lauren Flowers gave the Lady Railsplitters an eight point lead.

Arnwine made a layup to cut into the lead, but Proffitt responded with a three-point play for a nine point lead. Five consecutive points from Tusculum cut into the lead before Flowers made a layup, although the Pioneers finished with four more points to end the half within one possession.

Consecutive buckets from Sutton tied the game coming out of the halftime break gave Tusculum an early lead before neither team was able to score for a long stretch. Maggie Jachimczuk made a free throw to end the LMU drought, but a Belton three pointer and two Sutton free throws saw the Pioneers with a six point lead. Dixon and Sutton then combined for four more points to stretch the Tusculum lead to ten. Kuehne's three pointer cut the lead to seven and got LMU within striking distance with ten minutes to play.

Eight points by LMU to open the fourth quarter saw the Lady Railsplitters seize the lead at 40-39, but four points from Sutton quickly erased it. Eight more points from the Pioneers nearly put the game out of reach, but LMU had one more run. A Kuehne three cut the lead to six points with just over a minutes on the clock before Tusculum closed out the game with free throws and a three pointer from Sutton. Proffitt made a free throw to provide the final margin.

Maney led the way offensively and finished an excellent junior season with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Kuehne had 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Flowers led the team in rebounding with seven as she continued her standout play on the backboards.