HARROGATE, Tenn. -- This is a comprehensive preview of the upcoming 2015-16 Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball season, as we examine all of the relevant storylines as the Lady Railsplitters head into the second season under head coach Krystal Evans.
 
Looking Back: A 2014-15 recap
 
The first season of the Krystal Evans era began in promising fashion with the Lady Railsplitters winning seven of their first nine games, a stretch that included victories over PBC East division champions Lander and eventual South Atlantic Conference tournament champions Newberry, two programs that also appeared in the NCAA tournament.
 
But from that point on, the injury bug infected Lincoln Memorial. Senior reserve forward Samantha Satterlee was lost for the season after just seven games with a knee injury while leading scorer and rebounder Stephanie Smith suffered the same fate just four games later. Second-leading scorer Aisjah Lee was limited to only 19 appearances during her senior season while starting forward Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) was sidelined for 13 games while healing from a nagging wrist injury.
 
While dealing with a plethora of significant injuries to players of paramount importance, the Lady Railsplitters essentially were forced to scrap together a rotation on a game-by-game basis, and that turned a promising start into a rollercoaster finish.
 
Lincoln Memorial lost five consecutive games from December 17 until January 10, but followed that up by winning four of their next five contests, defeating Tusculum, Queens, Catawba and Brevard during that home-heavy stretch.
 
The Lady Railsplitters hit another bump in the road after that favorable stretch, though, dropping four of the next five including a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Lincoln Memorial's young roster picked up a signature win on Senior Night by nabbing a surprising 63-60 victory over SAC regular season runner-up Wingate on February 21, and then seemed to have solved their road woes with an 81-74 victory at Brevard two days later.
 
But the Lady Railsplitters played their final three games away from the friendly confines and lost all three, losing to Carson-Newman 79-57, falling at Catawba 75-55 and concluding the season with a 66-57 loss at Newberry in the quarterfinals of the SAC tournament.
 
All told, the Lady Railsplitters compiled a 14-15 overall record and finished sixth in the SAC standings with an 11-11 league mark. Lincoln Memorial enjoyed a tremendous amount of success at Tex Turner, going 11-3 in Harrogate, but the same could not be said on the road, where the Lady Railsplitters went just 2-11.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were among the best in the South Atlantic Conference in several key statistical categories, leading the league in field goals made per game (25.5), field goal percentage (42.8 percent) and rebounding average (44.) while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (33.6 percent), second in blocks per game (3.9) and third in assists per game (13.4).
 
Lincoln Memorial struggled defensively, though, ranking eighth in the league in opponent field goal percentage (40.5 percent) and last in opponent three-point field goal percentage (35.9 percent).
 
Who's Gone?
 
The Lady Railsplitters lost three of their top six scorers from last season's squad including the team's top team scoring threats in Stephanie Smith and Aisjah Lee.
 
Smith made only 11 appearances in the Blue and Gray before a knee injury brought her season to an abrupt halt. But in her 11 outings, Smith had established herself as one of the most dominant forces in the Southeast Region, averaging 12.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game on 45.1 percent shooting.
 
Lee was one of the more dynamic players in the South Atlantic Conference, accumulating 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Additionally, she shot 44.7 percent from the field and ranked ninth in the league with 46 total steals despite playing just 19 games.
 
The Lady Railsplitters also lost sharpshooting guard Katrina Ottesen, who averaged 7.6 points per game and led the Railsplitters with 41 made three-pointers on a 45.1 percent clip.
 
Those three players collectively combined for 32.1 points and 14.9 rebounds per game.
 
In addition to those three, Samantha Satterlee and Ashley Pritchett also exhausted their eligibility, as that pair averaged 3.0 and 3.5 points per game, respectively.
 
Who's Back in the Fray?
 
Despite taking a significant hit with the departure of those five players, the Lady Railsplitters return seven of their top nine players in terms of total minutes played last season.
 
Highlighting the list of returning talent is preseason All-SAC second team selection and junior forward Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.). A transfer from Coastal Carolina, Pittman made a splash in her first season with the Lady Railsplitters, contributing 10.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 44.6 percent shooting. The Liberty, Ky. native ranked sixth in the SAC in per-game rebounding average, grabbed a team-leading 75 offensive boards and collected the third-most defensive rebounds in the SAC last season with 168. She tallied six double-doubles and hit double figures in 15 of her 29 appearances.
 
Sophomore Shea Coker (Knoxville, Tenn.) headlines the Lady Railsplitters' backcourt after earning SAC All-Freshman team consideration in 2014-15. Coker carded 7.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game with a 47.3 percent mark from three-point range. After a slow start to her debut season, Coker went on an absolute tear by scoring double-digit points 10 times over a 12-game span that consumed the middle portion of the schedule.
 
Coker will be joined in the backcourt by senior Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) and sophomore Ross Mathis (Greer, S.C.). Rawls racked up 9.9 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in her first season with the Lady Railsplitters after transferring from Louisburg College, shooting 39.1 percent from the field while adding 36 steals. Mathis put up 3.0 points and 1.6 assists in 13.3 minutes per game. The Greer, S.C. native's playing time was limited early, but she came on strong late in the season, tallying double figure points in three of her last 11 appearances.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' frontcourt depth will be bolstered by the return of Josey Harding (Middletown, Ohio), Cox and Lakeisha Beasley (College Park, Ga.).
 
Harding was thrust into a more significant role in the wake of the myriad injuries last season and she thrived in her second season with the Lady Railsplitters, accounting for 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 29 appearances and 18 starts. The Middletown, Ohio product buried 50 percent of her shots and ranked second in the SAC with 43 blocks. She recorded double figure points in five of the team's last 10 games.
 
Cox was in the midst of a breakout 2014-15 season before suffering a wrist injury that forced her to miss 13 consecutive games. The guard-forward combo finished her junior season averaging 5.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. She turned in the best performance of her career right before being injured, racking up 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 13 boards in a statement win over Newberry.
 
Beasley, meanwhile, saw her role expand as the 2014-15 season progressed. She put up 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game on 52.8 percent shooting in 27 appearances. She was a bright spot in an otherwise difficulty loss at Carson-Newman at the tail end of the season, recording a career-high 13 points.
 
Veteran guards Britney Guy (Locust Grove, Ga.), Sydnie Anderson (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Jasmine Kelly (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) help buoy the Lady Railsplitters' backcourt depth.
 
Guy appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 3.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game over that span. Anderson made 16 appearances as a sophomore and averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds on 40.4 percent shooting. Kelly is back after missing the entire 2014-15 campaign with a knee injury. She logged 26 appearances as a sophomore (2012-13).
 
Who's New?
 
The Lady Railsplitters brought in seven freshmen and a Division I transfer during the offseason.
 
First and foremost, Lincoln Memorial added some exceptional talents to the backcourt with the addition of Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.), Dasia Maxwell (Knoxville, Tenn.), Brianna Marsh (Dryden, Mich.) and twins Emily and Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.).
 
A transfer from Coastal Carolina, Sims was dynamite in her first season (2013-14) with the Chanticleers, averaging 7.9 points per game while ranking second on the team with 35 made three-pointers. The Gatlinburg-Pittman High School graduate missed all of the 2014-15 season due to an injury before opting to transfer to Lincoln Memorial and rejoin her former teammate Megan Pittman.
 
Maxwell was an All-District 1A selection at nearby Knoxville Webb, who she helped lead to four consecutive appearances in the Tennessee Division II-A State Championship. The Lady Spartans won two state titles during Maxwell's tenure, including the 2015 championship capped in a dominant 64-40 win over Franklin Road Academy.
 
Marsh was a two-sport star at Dryden High School in Dryden, Mich., as she led her prep hoops team in scoring while also drawing significant interest from college scouts for her talents on the softball diamond.
 
The dynamic Griffith twins were both multiple time All-District, All-County and All-Tournament selections while playing starring roles for Oliver Springs High School. That pair helped lead Oliver Springs back to the BlueCross Tennessee Basketball Championships for the first time since 2009, earning TSWA Class A All-State appraisal for their efforts. Both Emily and Rachel are members of Oliver Springs' 1,000-point club.
 
The Lady Railsplitters' frontcourt was also given a significant boost with the arrival of Brooke Taylor (White Pine, Tenn.), Blake Lamb (Bean Station, Tenn.) and Dallas Warren (Asheville, N.C.).
 
A versatile guard-forward combo, Taylor came to Lincoln Memorial as a dual-sport athlete who also served as one of the backup goalkeepers for the Lady Railsplitters' soccer team this fall.
 
Lamb - a 6-0 post player - led Grainger High School to the Class AA state semifinals while earning TSWA All-State honors.
 
Warren received All-Mountain Athletic Conference distinctions after averaging 12.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game as a senior at Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C. The 6-2 center was also a standout goalkeeper on the soccer pitch, where she was named the most valuable player of the state tournament after leading the Rockets to the NCHSAA 3-A title.
 
The Game has Changed
 
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a number of significant changes to the women's game this summer.
 
The most dramatic shift is the timing format, as NCAA women's basketball games will now be played in four 10-minute quarters as opposed to the two 20-minute halves that have always been used in NCAA competition. The goal of that rule change, which was initially recommended by the NCAA Women's Basketball Rules Committee, is to enhance the flow of the game. With that alteration, the one-and-one bonus free throw attempt has also been wiped away, as teams will automatically reach the double bonus and be awarded two free throws on the fifth team foul in each quarter.
 
The NCAA rules panel also made a number of minor rules changes to enhance the overall product. Teams can now advance the ball to the frontcourt following a timeout immediately after a made basket in the last minute of the fourth quarter and any overtime periods. Further leeway was allotted to post defenders, who can now place a forearm or an open hand with a bend in the elbow on an offensive post player whose back is to the basket. The rules committee also voted to allow bands or amplified music to be played during any dead-ball situation during a women's game in an effort to improve the fan experience.
 
The Lady Railsplitters begin the 2015-16 season on Friday, November 13 in Greenwood, S.C. against Lander in the SAC vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge. Lincoln Memorial debuts at Tex Turner Arena and opens the SAC schedule against Carson-Newman on November 24.