ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University women's basketball team (14-8, 14-4 SAC) held on to win its fifth straight contest, defeating South Atlantic Conference opponent Lincoln Memorial, 64-63, on Wednesday at the Abney Athletic Center.
"I would first like to thank everyone for coming out to help us kick off celebrating Black History month," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "I also want to thank LMU's Men and Women's Basketball teams for participating with us by wearing shirts during warmups."
"This was two physical teams going at it on the basketball court," stated Barbaree. "We both made great runs and we were fortunate that we got the stop we needed on the last possession. I was proud of our grit and that we took care of the ball. I believe it was a season low with nine turnovers."
"I still believe our best basketball is still to come which is what you want as you move closer to tournament time," added Barbaree.
Despite baskets not falling easily for graduate Shameka McNeill, the league leading scorer still managed to score a game-high 27 points. McNeill also added five steals, two blocks, two assists and two rebounds to her night to help the Trojans preserve the win. Coming off the bench, graduate Samantha Michel made 5-of-10 shots and went 3-of-6 at the line to net 13 points. Michel was also credited with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior Taylor Hair made the most of her 24 minutes of action, chipping in eight points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out five assists and blocking one shot. Freshman Diamond McDowell remained active on the boards, pulling down seven. McDowell scored two points, had two steals and a blocked shot for the Black and Gold.
Lincoln Memorial's Mikayla Kuehne was the lone Railsplitter in double-digit scoring. Kuehne dropped in 26 points, while draining 7-of-15 three-point baskets. For the night, LMU hit 13-of-27 (48.1%) from behind the arc which aided it fourth quarter comeback.
After a relatively slow first half of action, the pace of play and the intensity picked up on both sides. Anderson carried a seven point lead into halftime, 32-25, with the Trojans increasing their lead to 12 after three quarters played.
LMU's Lexi Kiser hit a three-point shot to pull the Railsplitters within three with 4:47 remaining in the game. AU's McNeill answered back with a three-point bucket of her own on the next possession to push Anderson's lead back to, 61-55. McNeill followed her made bucket with a steal, with LMU fouling Michel. Michel made 1-of-2 to put the Trojans up seven with 3:36 to play.
LMU went on a quick 5-0 run to cut the lead to two, before McNeill's made jumper stopped the run. LMU's Lindsey Proffitt drained the Railsplitter's fifth three-point basket of the quarter to pull within one, with 1:41 left.
Anderson was able to survive a turnover and two missed jumpers with LMU getting off the last shot of the game.
Anderson returns to action on Saturday when it travels to South Atlantic Conference opponent UVA Wise. Tip-off is slated for 2 pm.
