HARROGATE, Tenn. - A strong first-half effort lifted Anderson past Lincoln Memorial, 70-56, in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena.

Anderson improved to 9-5 overall and 3-1 in the league with its second straight win and has won seven of its last eight outings, while earning its first win at Tex Turner Arena since joining the SAC for the 2010-11 season. Lincoln Memorial fell to 8-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference, while having its three-game win streak snapped.

Anderson snapped an early 4-4 tie by reeling off 15 unanswered first-half points to take control of the contest. Long-range accuracy fueled the outburst, as the Trojans drained four consecutive 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Lesley Woods sparked the outburst with her lone trey of the contest, with fellow sophomore Sierra Simpson adding another trey less than 30 seconds later. Senior forward Tilde Ahlin followed with a pair of 3-pointers and senior Breonda Shannon capped the run with a short jumper.

Senior guard Alissa Diaz became the 10th player in Anderson's storied athletic history to reach 1,000 career points with a short jumper at the 1:09 mark of the first half, giving the Trojans a 38-15 cushion and the Trojans took a 40-17 halftime lead.

The offensive output marked the second-highest first-half effort by the Trojans - second only to the 48 first-half points scored in the decisive win past Alaska-Fairbanks. The Trojan defense held Lincoln Memorial to 1-of-11 shooting early in the first frame and the 17 points by the Lady Railsplitters equaled the lowest this season by an AU opponent.

The Trojans claimed their largest lead of the contest, 60-36, with 6:23 left on freshman Madison Floyd's 3-pointer, but the Lady Railsplitters countered with a 20-4 run over the next five minutes to trim the AU advantage to just 64-56 on a pair of free throws from Kalasia Green with 1:28 left.

But Anderson fended off the rally with Simpson connecting on 4-of-5 free throws in the final moments and sophomore Jaclyn Moore finished off the scoring with a short jumper.

Diaz finished with a team-high 15 points and notched her first double-double of the season by equaling her career high with 10 rebounds. Simpson finished with 13 points and handed out a game-high four assists.

Green tossed in a game-high 16 points for LMU, while Kelsey Bradford netted 14.

The Trojans return to action by visiting Tusculum on Wednesday. Tip-off versus the Pioneers is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Greeneville, Tenn.