No.9/18 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (4-0) vs. CLAYTON STATE (3-0)
Friday, November 27 - 2:00 PM (Central)                                            
Warden Arena (Winter Park, Fla.)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm      
All-Time Series: No Prior Meetings
Tweet #LCUvsCST

EAST BOUND BUT NOT DOWN
The Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals head back out on the road after playing their first home games last week, as they head to Winter Park, Fla. to take part in the Rollins College Thanksgiving Classic. LCU will open play Friday at 2 p.m. (Central) facing Clayton State and then will either play host Rollins College or Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras. The format is set up that Friday's winning teams will face each other Saturday at 2 p.m. (Central) and the two losing teams from Friday playing each other Saturday at noon (Central). LCU takes a 4-0 record into the Orlando area and is one of two teams (Clayton State) in the field unbeaten.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
Tess Bruffey was able to score six of her 20 points in overtime and Lubbock Christian University bent but did not break, as they did not relinquish the lead when tied on five second-half situations and survived for an 82-76 overtime win over Fort Lewis College Saturday night inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
Tied 69-69 entering the extra session, Haley Fowler tallied a layup 14 seconds into overtime and sparked a 9-1 run to open overtime. It was the separation needed for LCU, who let go of a 10-point second half lead and played the final seven minutes of regulation played in a game never separated by more than four points.
 
LCU opened the fourth quarter leading 54-48 and led 57-52 with 7:07 to go, but Kylie Santos, entering the game leading the Skyhawks in scoring, hit a three-pointer for her first points of the game. The Skyhawks followed with a steal and jumper by Dallas Dickerson to tie the game 57-57 with 6:13 remaining. A see-saw battle ensued and free-throws by Kellyn Schneider gave LCU a 69-65 lead with 57 seconds remaining in regulation. Mary Rambo scored a pair of her game-high 21 points with a layup and FLC forced Blair Taylor into a turnover with eight seconds left, resulting in a Kate Bayes layup with a second remaining to force overtime.
 
Fort Lewis was never able to get a lead past halftime, but they led early on, leading 11-4 with 3:51 to go in the opening quarter. LCU responded with a 10-0 run and led 14-13 at the close of the first quarter. Rambo gave the Skyhawks a 15-14 lead to open the second quarter, but it was eventually their final lead. Three-pointers by Kelsey Hoppel and Taylor was part of a 9-0 run by LCU and they led as much as 28-18 before taking a 32-25 lead at halftime. Dickerson was able to drain a long distance three-pointer at the buzzer, which proved valuable.
 
The Skyhawks were whistled for 28 fouls in the game and it led to 40 free-throw attempts by LCU. They made 29 of the 40 attempts, with Nicole Hampton (11/12) and Bruffey (11/16) combining for 22 made free-throws. Bruffey was one make and attempt each away from tying a Rip Griffin Center record. Fouls were a factor as Astrea Read fouled out in the fourth quarter with 18 points.
 
LCU was 7-of-16 (43.8%) from three-point range and 46% (23/50) from the field. They were out-rebounded 44-36, with FLC taking advantage of 17 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second-chance points.
 
Rambo led all scorers and FLC also received 18 points from Read and 12 points from Dickerson, who had two of the team's five three-pointers (5/22, 22.7%). Bruffey was two points shy of her career high and just missed a double-double finishing with nine rebounds. Hampton finished with 18 points, and Hoppel (17 points) and Fowler (14 points) each finished in double figures offensively.
 
WEEKLY RECOGNITION
The Heartland Conference announced their weekly honors and Lubbock Christian University's Tess Bruffey was recognized as the conference's Women's Basketball Player of the Week. Bruffey, a sophomore from Lubbock, Texas, averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in a 2-0 week for the Lady Chaparrals, who defeated both Eastern New Mexico and previously unbeaten Fort Lewis College. She scored 19 points in 18 minutes of play against Eastern New Mexico (17 came in the opening half), and closed the week with a 20-point nine-rebound performance against Fort Lewis. Overall, she was 11-of-19 from the field and 3-of-6 from long range.  The 6-4 forward ranks third in the conference in blocks (9) and fifth in field goal percentage (.576) and in three-point shooting (5-of-10, 50%). The award is a career first for Bruffey and the first received by a Lady Chap this season.
 
OFF TO A GOOD START
LCU is 4-0 to start the season. It is their best start since opening the 2012-2013 season 16-0.  
 
1,000 ON THE HORIZON
The Lady Chaps head to the Sunshine State with 998 games played in program history. Saturday's game will mark the 1,000th game played in program history. Through 998 games, LCU holds a program record of 559-439 (.560).
 
OVERTIME
Last Saturday, LCU played to an 82-76 overtime win over Fort Lewis College. The overtime contest for LCU was their first since a 73-71 overtime loss at home to Tarleton State on Nov. 28, 2014, and their first overtime win since an 81-75 victory at St. Edward's on Jan. 16, 2014.
 
CLOSE CALLS     
Saturday's game against Fort Lewis also witnessed several LCU Rip Griffin Center records nearly broken. Tess Bruffey attempted 16 free-throws, which was an attempt away from matching the arena single-game record. Her and Nicole Hampton each made 11 free throws and each was one make away from matching the arena single-game record for free-throws made.
           
MILESTONE WATCH
-   Kelsey Hoppel is 10 three-pointers away from moving past Haley Burton (204) and into third all-time in program history for career three-pointers.
-   Kellyn Schneider needs five blocks to pass Candace Clenney (122) and move into second place on LCU's career blocks list.
-   Nicole Hampton is a steal away of moving past Sherry Blackwell (235) and moving into second on the program's all-time steal list.
-   Nicole Hampton is 25 rebounds shy of passing Darla Lynch (838) and moving into second on the program's all-time rebound list.
-   Tess Bruffey needs five blocks to move past Mamy N'Kolomoni (93) and into fourth on LCU's career block list.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Here are some facts about LCU's trip to Winter Park, Fla.:
-   LCU has never played any of the teams in the field.
-   LCU has never played a game in Florida or a team from Florida (Rollins College).
-   LCU has never played a team from Georgia (Clayton St.).
-   LCU has never played a team from Puerto Rico (UPRRP).
-   The last time LCU played an international program was on  Nov. 26, 1998 against British Columbia based Simon Fraser (LCU lost 75-62).

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CST
• The Lakers are 3-0 on the season and are coming off a 63-57 win over West Georgia. The contest is their only home date thus far and it produced a program record 1,649 fans.
• The Peach Belt Conference has Clayton State preseason picked sixth in the conference. They are coming off a 17-12 season.
• Clayton State won the NCAA Div. II Women's Basketball national title in 2011.
• DaQueena Moore leads the Lakers with an average of 11.7 points per game. She has at least 10 points in all three games this season.
• Shay Upshaw enters play ranking sixth in the nation with a 71.4% shooting percentage, as she is 15-of-21 from the field this season.