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HARROGATE, Tenn. — LMU went toe-to-toe with the top team in the South Atlantic Conference Saturday afternoon, and when the dust settled it was Catawba who escaped the Tex Turner Arena with the 60-56 win.

The Lady Railsplitters fall to 5-7 on the season and 4-4 in South Atlantic Conference play with the loss to the Catawba Indians, who are receiving votes in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll and are ranked 17th in the D2SIDA Media Poll.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Catawba rolled out to the early 10-3 run, but a Jordan Maney three-pointer sparked a LMU run that cut the lead to 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.

• LMU tied the game at 14-14 to open the second quarter, but saw Catawba pull back out to a six point lead.

• The Catawba Indians led 25-19 with 2:06 remaining in the half, but LMU’s defense stepped up and held them scoreless over the remainder of the half.

• LMU took advantage to roll off six unanswered points and take a 26-25 lead into the intermission.

• Catawba grabbed the lead early in the third quarter, but LMU used a 7-0 run midway through the stanza to reclaim the lead. The teams then traded baskets for the next couple of minutes before LMU scored another five unanswered points to pull out to a 37-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

• The teams then traded the lead for the balance of the fourth quarter, tying the game four times in the period.

• LMU held Catawba scoreless from the field for the final 4:10, but were unable to score anything but free throws themselves for the final 3:01 as Catawba hit five straight free throws to close out the game and eke out the four point win.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

• Lindsay Proffitt was the lone Lady Railsplitter in double figures as she had 10 points

• Addi Kirkpatrick had a game-high nine rebounds, while Sydney Newsome pulled down eight.

• Newsome also had two assists, two steals, and two blocks.

• Kirkpatrick led the team with three steals.

• Emily Phillips led Catawba with 13 points, while Lyrik Thorne added in 11. LMU’s defense held Taisha DeShazo, one of the top scorers in the league, to four points.

• For the game, LMU shot 33.3 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from behind the arc, and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.

• Catawba was worse from the field percentage-wise despite winning the game as they shot 31.0 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three-point range and 52.9 percent from the free throw line.

• The Catawba Indians out-rebounded LMU by a 48-38 margin, including 23-12 in offensive rebounds.

• Catawba’s deep roster meant they led in bench points 32-24. LMU had 19 points off of 23 Catawba Indian turnovers.

• LMU now leads the all-time series 15-13.

UP NEXT

The Lady Railsplitters will close out the three-game home stand on Wednesday evening when they host Mars Hill at 5:30 p.m. The Lions are 2-12 overall and 0-8 in SAC play following a 30 point loss to Anderson earlier today.