WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWS

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Sports Release                                                                                                                      January 12, 2008

Lady Railsplitters Blow 18-Point Lead But Defeat Brevard In Overtime 79-72

Harrogate, TN – With 14:26 to go in Saturday night’s game with Brevard College, it looked as though the Lady Railsplitters were going to silence the Tornados and capture their seventh win of the season when they opened up an 18 point lead midway through the second half.  However, the Brevard women came roaring back in the late minutes of the game and erased the LMU lead to take the upper hand 58-57 with 5:20 to play.  (Box score)

With the momentum now clearly blowing in the Tornado’s favor, Brevard maintained the lead, stretching the margin to as many as five points in the final five minutes of regulation before the Lady Railsplitters started whittling away at the deficit.  Finally, trailing by three with one second remaining on the clock, LMU executed an inbound pass to freshman Stephanie Wagner (Elkhart, IN) who was fouled shooting a three-pointer at the top of the circle.  Wagner, who has not missed a free throw all year calmly stepped up to the line and knocked down all three shots to tie the game at 68, sending it to overtime. 

Although both teams had their moments in the extra stanza, it was the Lady Railsplitters that carried the momentum into a 79-72 win down the stretch largely in part on the free throw shooting of junior point-guard Shawn Nicols (Milwaukee, WI).  Nicols hit 7-8 free throws for the game, including five from the line in overtime to take top scoring honors with 22 points while handing out a season-high 10 assists.

Stephanie Wagner had possibly her best offensive performance of the season with 20 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc and the three free throws that helped LMU get into overtime.  Also scoring double figures was senior Heather Benton (Wooton, KY) who scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half.  Sophomore Andi Winney (Yorktown, IN) led the Lady Railsplitters on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Brevard put four players in double figures in Saturday night’s game.  The Tornados were led by the inside play of Amanda Whitaker who finished the evening with 18 points.  Teammate Samantha Winn added 13 points, while point-guard Courtney Brandon and forward Holly Krogman each had 10.

Now 7-6 overall, the Lady Railsplitters will return to South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday evening when they play host to the Indians of Newberry College at home in the Tex Turner Arena.  Newberry comes into Wednesday’s meeting with Lincoln Memorial at 11-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.  Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.

-LMU-