Lions Drop Heartbreaker to Lincoln Memorial

HARROGATE, TENN. – Senior forward Cadence Wilmoth poured in a game-high 16 points, but it was not enough as they fell to the home standing Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters in a pivotal South Atlantic Conference on Wednesday, February 17. LMU sank a three from half court to win at the buzzer. Mars Hill drops to 13-11 overall and 12-7 within the conference while Lincoln Memorial improves to 15-9 and 12-7.

Ansley Ricker was lights out from downtown on the evening, drilling three of her four attempts from behind the arc to chip in 15 points. Genice Lane and Kelsey Espinosa also had very productive games, chipping in 14 and 13 points, respectively. Wilmoth along with Paige Chavis grabbed a team-high six boards while Wilmoth and Lane added three blocks each.

The Lions shot well from the field connecting on 23 of 48 shots (47.9%) and holding LMU to on 28 of 66 (42.4%). Mars Hill hit on 90% of its free throws (16-18), but lost the battle of the boards on the night, 38-27.

The first quarter showed that the next 40 minutes would be a battle of will as each team would not budge. The Lions built a small five point lead at 13-8 following a steal and bomb from Lane with just under three minutes remaining in the first session. A jumper from Espinosa off a pretty feed from Lane gave the Blue and Gold a 20-13 lead heading to the second quarter.

The momentum seemed as if it were going to go in favor of the Lions after they built their lead to its largest of the game, 31-22, after two shots from the charity stripe by Wilmoth. However, the Railsplitters went on a mini 8-3 run over the next four minutes to trail at halftime by only four, 34-30.

LMU came out in the third and collected the initial four points to knot the game at 34-all, but a 13-6 run from Mars Hill quickly gave the road warriors a seven point lead at 47-40. Once again Lincoln Memorial showed its poise and cut into the deficit with a three from Sydnie Anderson with less than a half minute left in period three to make the score 49-46, which would be the score leading into the final frame.

LMU finally was able to gain the lead, 50-49, for the first time since the 6:19 mark of the opening quarter following a jumper from Megan Pittman. They were able to build on that lead and control the game 61-56 with four minutes left in regulation. This time Mars Hill showed its resilience, ripping off a solid 6-0 run to take a 62-61 lead. The two teams exchanged the next four points and Lane hit Chavis under the basket with four ticks left on the clock to give MHU a 66-64 lead. Unfortunately, a desperation shot from Britney Guy at the buzzer found the bottom of the bucket and sent the Railsplitters into pandemonium as they stole the game 67-66.

The Lions will return to action on Saturday, February 20 as they welcome Coker to Stanford Arena for a conference tilt. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.