Lady Railsplitters Survive Close Game with Presbyterian

HARROGATE, TN – The Lincoln Memorial University women’s basketball team took its first step toward reaching the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship on Monday evening by defeating Presbyterian College 53-52 in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Basketball Tournament. (Box score)

On the heels of the South Atlantic Conference regular season, #8 Lincoln Memorial and #9 seed Presbyterian were playing for the right to take on the SAC’s top ranked Lady Bulldogs from Wingate University this Wednesday.  Both teams have endured frustrating seasons but all records were thrown out and the two teams gave college basketball fans an early glimpse of what to expect with the upcoming “March Madness”.

Lincoln Memorial and Presbyterian traded leads throughout the early minutes of the first half until Madeline Richards (Floyds Knobs, IN) gave the Lady Railsplitters the lead on a layup with 13:30 to play in the half.  Although the Blue Hose kept the game close, LMU was able to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room, in tern giving the Lady Splitters an metal edge going into the final twenty minutes of play.

As the second half got under way, it looked as though Lincoln Memorial was going to blow the game open, as the Lady Railsplitters extended their lead to 10 points at 17:57 and again at 17:09.  However, the Blue Hose began to whittle away at the LMU lead and with 5:51 remaining, PC’s Lea Smith gave her team 44-43 lead on a free throw.  Presbyterian carried the lead over the next few minutes of play until finally relinquishing it with 2:55 remaining on a lay-up by LMU’s Kate Fane (Sterling, IL).

Although the game remained close until the final buzzer, several key turnovers and poor free throw shooting down the stretch by Presbyterian were contributing factors in the Lady Railsplitters coming away with the 53-52 win.

LMU senior Madeline Richards led all scorers with 20 points while teammate Heather Benton (Wooton, KY) finished the night with 11.  The Lady Railsplitters were led on the boards by Andi Winney (Yorktown, IN) who grabbed 9 rebounds.

Presbyterian’s effort was carried by Sharie Hopkins and Bridget Takach.  Hopkins took top scoring honors for the Blue Hose with 14 points, while Takach turned in a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Presbyterian ends the year at 6-22 while the Lady Railsplitters (14-14) will advance to Wednesday night’s quarterfinal game with #1 seed Wingate University.  The Bulldogs boast a 22-5 overall record going into Wednesday night’s game with LMU, which will be played in Wingate, North Carolina.  The game will be broadcast on the LMU Sports Network and tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.