ODESSA, Texas (January 22, 2015) – Haley Fowler returned from injury with a game-high 22 points and joined teammate Allison Szabo (17 points) to combine for 39 points off the bench to lead Lubbock Christian University to an 89-76 Heartland Conference victory over University of Texas of the Permian Basin Thursday evening at Falcon Dome.

Fowler, LCU's scoring leader in average points, missed the prior six games due to an injury and was questionable entering the game, but early foul trouble on Tess Bruffey and Kellyn Schneider led to LCU head coach Steve Gomez giving Fowler an opportunity to test her ability. She had 10 points in eight minutes of play during the first half and was 5-of-5 from the field in the half.

LCU was 62.5% from the field (20/32) in the opening half and 67.8% shooting inside the arc. UTPB opened the game 1-of-13 from the field and LCU opened the game with a 15-7 lead. Blair Taylor hit one of the team's three three-pointers and the only one of the half during an 11-2 run late in the half to pro-vide LCU a 38-20 lead. They led 48-25 at halftime.

The Falcons roared back after falling behind 50-25 early in the second half, out-scoring LCU 15-4 over the ensuing stretch to cut LCU's lead to 54-40. LCU would build the lead back to a comfortable margin, leading 80-57 with over six minutes remaining. UTPB would never cut LCU's lead to under a 13-point lead. Fowler helped LCU keep the edge, scoring 12 points in the second half.

The Lady Chaps finished the game 58.9% from the field (33/56) and holding UTPB to a 33.8% (24/71) shooting mark. LCU was 67% (30/45) inside the arc in the game. Fowler opened the game 7-of-7 from the field and ended the game 9-of-10 for her 22 points. It was her second game of her career in which she posted over 20 points. Szabo, like Fowler, was also used a lot off the bench in the paint because of fouls. She was 8-of-12 from the field. Schneider produced 12 points off a 5-of-5 shooting performance and Bruffey added 11 points.

Valerie Barriga, who was 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the prior meeting between the squads, broke a Heartland Conference record going 15-of-15 from the line as part of her team-leading 21 points. The shooting mark snapped Nicole Hampton's conference record of 14-of-14 from last season at St. Ed-ward's. Barriga is the first player this season in NCAA Div. II to be perfect with at least 15 free-throw at-tempts in a game. The Falcons also received 18 points from Myangel Johnson, 11 points from Giselle Loya and 10 points from Trish Simpson.

LCU improved to 13-5 overall and moved to 7-1 overall in the conference to remain in first place in the standings. They also improved to 14-0 all-time against UTPB, who falls to 10-6 overall and 4-4 in confer-ence. The Lady Chaps extended their season-best win streak to five games and extended UTPB's losing streak to three games. LCU heads to Austin, Texas Saturday and faces St. Edward's University at 1 p.m. to complete their three-game road trip.