Lions Drop Tough Road Contest at Lincoln Memorial

HARROGATE, TENN. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team was dealt a 95-51 loss at the hands of league-leading Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday evening. MHU drops to 2-11 overall and 0-7 in the conference, while LMU improves to 12-0 overall and 7-0 in the league.

Paige Chavis collected team-highs with 27 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Lions, while Madison Ervin chipped in 14 points. As a team the Lions shot 29.5% (13-44) from the field and 73.1% (19-26) from the charity stripe. Lincoln Memorial seemed unconscious from distance, connecting on 17 three-pointers on the afternoon, while shooting 52.4% (33-63) overall. The Railsplitters held a 41-27 advantage on the boards.

Two consecutive threes to open the contest fueled a 13-0 run, giving LMU the early lead as the Lions struggled to find their identity on the offensive end of the floor. However, Sydney Comer connected on a deep three of her own and Chavis streaked down the court for a fast break layup to narrow the gap to 13-5 just four minutes in. Lincoln Memorial extended its lead to 24-11 after the first period of play.

That advantage grew to as many as 16 (32-16) after another Railsplitter triple. However, Mars Hill started to get into a rhythm offensively, ripping off a massive 16-6 to cut the deficit to 38-32 with a little over a minute left before halftime. LMU knocked down a three with 35 seconds remaining to take a 41-32 mark into the locker room.

The second half mirrored the first as LMU outscored the Lions 15-4 over the initial three and a half minutes to extend the lead to its largest, 56-36, forcing a timeout from the visiting bench. Lincoln Memorial continued to build its lead, heading into the fourth period with a lead of 80-42, eventually closing the Lions out by a final of 95-51.

Shea Coker led LMU with 18 points, while Megan Pittman and Karsen Sims tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively.  

Mars Hill will return to Stanford Arena on Saturday, January 7 as it plays host to Coker College. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.