HARROGATE, TENN. – The energy inside Tex Turner Arena was electric as rival Queens came to town on Senior Day for LMU women's basketball. The Lady Railsplitters honored their five seniors in the best way they knew how, beating the Royals 67-64 to send the seniors out in style.
 
"Lexi Kiser, Irelynn Davisson, Mikayla Kuehne, Lindsay Proffitt, and Addi Kirkpatrick are special kids," said head coach Devan Carter. "I'm proud of them and I'm glad we could get this victory for them on senior night."
 
It was close all throughout the first quarter, as neither team could get much of a lead. LMU got the scoring started with a Lexi Kiser layup on the first possession of the game. The two teams traded baskets for a few minutes before Kuehne hit a three-pointer to give the Lady Railsplitters an 11-9 advantage. The Royals answered back and took a 16-15 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
The Royals pushed their lead up to four early in the second quarter, but Lauren Flowers went on a 7-0 run all by herself, as she hit a three, two free throws, and a jumper to put LMU back out in front. Queens came back to take the lead, but a Kiser three tied the game back up at 27. The game was tied at 33 late in the quarter, but Irelynn Davisson hit an and-1 jump shot and free throw with nine seconds remaining to give the Lady Railsplitters the lead heading into the break.
 
LMU opened up the third quarter strong pushing their lead up to seven following a 6-2 run highlighted by a three from Davisson and a layup from Lindsay Proffitt. The Royals battled back to within one, but LMU responded again, this time with another Davisson three-pointer and a layup from Grace Day. Free throws from Day and Kuehne to close out the quarter gave LMU a 52-46 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Kuehne hit a three early in the fourth quarter to push the lead up to seven, but Queens followed with a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 57-55. LMU retied the game at 58, and another Proffitt three-ponter gave them a three-point lead with a minute and a half left. Queens tried to lengthen the game by fouling the Lady Railsplitters, but Davisson and Flowers both stepped to the line to ice the game, knocking down four free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch the 67-64 victory.
 
"We found a way down the stretch to get the win, and got some stops when we needed to and took care of the ball at the end of game," remarked Carter.
 
The five seniors combined to score 43 points, led by Kuehne's 14 and Davisson's 12. Kuehne also added four assists and four rebounds. Kiser scored nine points on three three-pointers, while Proffitt scored six and Kirkpatrick added two points. Lauren Flowers came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points and added four assists, while Grace Day scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
"We have to get ready for Monday as Lenoir-Rhyne is a well-coached and tough team to play," commented Carter. "We are going to have to rest up and get to work as Monday is going to be a big game for us."
 
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters finish up the regular season next week, with three games in six days. It all starts Monday at 5:30 PM, as they travel to Hickory, North Carolina to take on Lenior-Rhyne.
 
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