WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 27, 2015) – An 84.2% shooting performance in the second half, which included a 24-4 run in the third quarter, helped Lubbock Christian University avoid a second half rally by Clayton State University and the Lady Chaparrals, behind an 18-point performance by Tess Bruffey, opened their play at the Rollins College Thanksgiving Tournament with a 79-54 win at Warden Arena. The win places LCU into the tournament's championship game Saturday (2 p.m. Central) to face tournament host Rollins.

LCU, led 36-30 half and nearly let go of a 13-point first half lead, as Georgia based Clayton State opened the third quarter with the first two field goals and an 8-4 scoring advantage to cut LCU's lead to 40-38 2:45 into the third quarter. The Lady Chaps responded by making their next eight field goal attempts and went on a 24-4 run over a span of 6:24 for a 64-42 lead (8:51 remaining in fourth quarter).  Of the eight consecutive field goals, five closed out the third quarter and three were from three-point range, as Kelsey Hoppel, Hannah Harbin and Bruffey each connected from long-range.  During the run, LCU had a streak of seven consecutive points tallied from the free-throw line in the third quarter.

The Lady Chaps ended up making 16 of 19 shots in the second half (87.5%). They were 4-of-5 (80%) from outside the arc and 12-of-14 (85.7%) from inside the perimeter in the half. LCU was 7-of-8 (87.5%) shooting in the third quarter and 9-of-11 (81.8%) in the fourth quarter. LCU did the damage against a defense, which had been giving them fits throughout most of the game. Clayton State forced LCU into 18 turnovers, three shot clock violations and a backcourt ten-second infraction during the game.

Lubbock Christian opened the game on a 7-0 run and the play of Nicole Hampton (six points in the first quarter) and Bruffey (seven points in the first quarter) combined to help LCU jump out to a 15-2 lead 4:35 into the contest. Clayton State responded late in the quarter with a 9-0 run, which carried into the second quarter. After scoring 23 points in the opening quarter, Clayton State's defense tightened up and held LCU to 13 points in the second quarter. LCU was held to a 4-for-10 stretch, with four field goals over a stretch of 11:11.

LCU was 58.5% from the field overall (31/53) and 35.7% (5/14) from three-point range, as they were 1-of-9 (11.1) from three-point range in the opening half. The Lady Chaps were 26-of-39 (66.7%) inside the arc for the game.

Bruffey (7/11) and Haley Fowler (7/10) were a combined 66.7% (14/21) from the field for LCU. They combined to go 5-of-5 in the second half, as nine different players had field goals in the second half and six players were perfect from the field in the half. Four different Lady Chaps posted double figures in points, with Fowler (15 points), Hampton (12 points) and Allison Szabo (10 points) joining Bruffey.

Clayton State, the 2011 NCAA Div. II national champions, shot 30.6% (19/62) from the field overall and were held to a 24.1% shooting mark (7/29) in the second half. They struggled from the line, going 10-of-24 (41.7%) at the charity stripe. DaQuenna Moore led Clayton State with 10 points in the loss, which was their first of the season (3-1).

Lubbock Christian outscored Clayton State 46-20 in the paint and 24-14 in points off turnovers.  The second chance scoring was tied 9-9 despite Clayton State having a 19-10 advantage in second chance scoring.

The game was LCU's first ever game against a Georgia based program and it was their first ever game on Florida soil. They improve to 5-0 on the season and face Rollins College Saturday at 2 p.m. (Central). The game will mark LCU's 1,000th game in program history.

TURNING POINT
The documented 24-4 run over a span of 6:24 in the second half proved to be the difference and took the wind out of the sails of the Lakers.  After opening the third quarter with their 8-4 scoring advantage, the Lakers closed out the game 4-of-23 (17.4%) from the field.

STAT OF THE GAME
LCU went without a bench point until Szabo made a free-throw as 4:14 remained in the third quarter. The team's first 44 points leading up to Szabo's free-throw was tallied by their starters.  Harbin scored the first field goal by a bench player with 36 seconds left in the third quarter. Seven of the final nine field goals by the Lady Chaps were tallied from the bench, as the bench combined to shoot 7-for-7 from the field over the final 10:36. Twenty of the Lady Chaps final 35 points came from the bench.