No.13 OKLAHOMA CITY (5-3) at No.4/14 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (7-0)
Thursday, December 10 - 6:00 PM                                                  
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
TV: Fox 34 News Now                
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm               
All-Time Series: OCU leads 40-9
Tweet #LCUvsOCU

TEST TAKING
The Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals have not played since December 3rd due to finals, and they return to the court Thursday to host No.13 Oklahoma City University. The game is the only game LCU plays this week and it marks their final game before jumping into Heartland Conference play. The game will serve as a regular season game for LCU, but OCU has claimed the game as an exhibition for their records.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University and Midwestern State University combined for 95 points off the bench and Whitney Taylor supplied MSU with 17 points off the bench, but LCU used a 28-8 scoring advantage in the first quarter and 12 points off the bench from Allison Szabo to claim a 92-71 win Thursday night at Rip Griffin Center for LCU's first win over MSU since 1990.
 
LCU opened the game on a 14-3 run and had 16 points off their bench in the opening quarter.  The Mustangs committed six turnovers in the opening quarter leading to a 14-3 advantage in points off turnovers. Szabo had eight of her 12 points in the quarter. LCU's defense held MSU to three field goals (3/13) in the quarter, with only one tallied inside the perimeter.
 
The Mustangs rebounded in the second quarter with a 22-point quarter, which is the second highest quarter total by a Lady Chaps opponent this season. Whitney Taylor, who had 11 points in the first half, scored eight of her points in the quarter.
 
MSU was 5-of-8 (62.5%) from long range in the opening half, but were 6-of-21 (28.6%) inside the arc. LCU led 53-30 at the half and shot 60.6% (20/33) in the half.
 
LCU was unable to maintain their hot shooting in the second half.  LCU opened the second half 1-of-10 inside the arc. They were also 5-of-10 from the line during the quarter, but had key outside shooting. They opened 4-for-4 from three-point range, with Bailey Haist connecting on a trio. Jacquar Westbrooks and Whitney Paul combined for 13 points in the quarter for MSU and they were able to cut the LCU lead to 16 (57-41), but they would get no closer.
 
The Lady Chaps played all 15 players and 12 produced offensively. They received 45 points from their bench and 47 from their starters. No starter played more than 26 minutes for LCU. MSU produced 40 of their 71 points from their bench. The Mustangs used 14 players and received points from 10 different players. Kelsey Hoppel led LCU with 13 points. She was joined in double figures by Nicole Hampton (12 points), Szabo (12 points) and Haley Fowler (11 points). Westbrooks led all scorers with 18 points and MSU also received 17 points from Taylor and 10 points from Anni Scholl.
 
LCU shot 52.5% (32/61) from the field and 58.8% (10/17) from long range. MSU, like LCU, also shot better from three-point range than inside the arc, going 8-of-12 (66.7%) from downtown. Scholl and Taylor were each 3-for-4, while LCUs success came from Haist (3-for-3), Hoppel (3-for-5) and Blair Taylor (2-for-2). LCU produced nine blocks in the game, with Tess Bruffey blocking five.  Hampton was two rebounds and two assists shy of a triple-double. LCU out-scored MSU 26-13 in points off turnovers and 18-4 in fast break points.
 
Lubbock Christian ended a streak of 11 consecutive losses in the all-time history with MSU. The Mustangs (1-7), who were making their first trip to Lubbock since 1994, suffered their first loss to LCU since Jan. 17, 1990.  It was the 28th meeting all-time and the first for Lubbock Christian (their sixth win in the all-time series) resulting in a win of over 11 points.
 
ACCOMPLISHED MILESTONES
Kelsey Hoppel knocked down three three-pointers against MSU and moved past Haley Burton (204) and into third all-time in program history for career three-pointers with 205. Nicole Hampton also moved up the ranks with eight rebounds against the Mustangs to move into sole possession of second place on the LCU career rebounding list. She moved ahead of Darla Lynch (838) and no has 846 career rebounds.

OFF TO A GOOD START
LCU is 7-0 to start the season. It is their best start since opening the 2012-2013 season 16-0.  They are one of 21 teams entering Wednesday undefeated on the season.
 
BOARDING UP
The Lady Chaps rank seventh in the nation in defensive rebounds per game with an average of 33 per game. Their season high was 44 against Eastern New Mexico.

MOVING ON UP
The Lady Chaps made the move up from No.6 to No.4 in the latest D2SIDA Poll. They remained No.14 in the USA Today WBCA Coaches Poll.    
 
DIALING IN    
LCU went a combined 19-of-42 (45.2%) from three-point range in their prior two games, which has boosted their season three-point shooting mark to 44.7%, which ranks second in the nation behind Drury (48.5%). Individually, Kelsey Hoppel ranks 14th in the nation at 50%  (23/46).
           
MILESTONE WATCH
-   Tess Bruffey, coming off a five-block performance against MSU, surpassed 100 career blocks and is 22 blocks away from passing Candace Clenney and moving into third place on the program's all-time blocks list.

ZANY STAT LINE
LCU leads the nation in a bizarre statistic, as opponents are shooting 52.5 percent (63/120) from the free-throw line against the Lady Chaps this season. The best an opponent has done against LCU this season is Fort Lewis, who shot 65% (13-20) from the line against LCU.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OCU
• The Stars are 5-3 overall on the season and 1-2 in road play. Their trip to the Hub City kicks off a three-game road trip for the Stars, who have a two-game win streak following a 62-50 win over Texas Wesleyan Tuesday in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
• The Sooner Athletic Conference had OCU finishing second in the preseason polls and they opened the season with the No.7 national ranking in NAIA. Last season, OCU claimed their eighth NAIA National Championship.
• This season marks the first season with Bo Overton as their head coach. Overton came to OCU from the Chicago Sky of the WNBA. He previously coached in the collegiate ranks at Missouri-Kansas City.
• Daniela Wallen leads OCU with an average of 21.6 points on the season. She tallied 28 points against Texas Wesleyan and has averaged 23.7 points over the prior three games.
• Along with ranking fourth in the NAIA in points per game, Wallen leads the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (8.3) and is sixth in overall rebounds per game (10.7).   

THE SERIES AGAINST OCU
Oklahoma City dominates the series with a 40-9 all-time record against LCU. The Stars, who have won five of the last eight meetings, had won four straight meetings until LCU surprised the Stars with a 77-64 win to claim the 2013 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship (Mar. 2, 2013... last time LCU has won in the series), which is LCU's only postseason title. This is the two teams' second meeting since LCU departed the SAC. Last season, the two teams met on Jan.1 and LCU fell 85-81.

PRIOR MEETING VS. OCU
Jan. 1, 2015 (Lubbock, Texas): LCU 81 - OCU 85
Lubbock Christian University had an 18-point lead and led for over 33 minutes, but they were unable to hold a ten-point lead with over three minutes remaining and fell 85-81 to NAIA No. 2 ranked Oklahoma City University New Year's Day inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
LCU led 79-69 with 3:05 left, but OCU closed the game on a 16-2 run. The Stars were 6-of-7 during the span from the field, while LCU was 1-of-5 with three turnovers down the stretch. The Lady Chaps lost the lead with 57 seconds remaining off a Marisha Wallace jumper. LCU had led since a Blair Taylor three pointer, which had put them up 15-12 with 14:48 left in the opening half.
 
Oklahoma City opened the game knocking down their first three three-point field goals and took a 12-6 lead three minutes into the contest. LCU did rally back and Taylor's three pointer was part of 30-6 run for LCU, which gave them their largest lead of the game (36-18) with 9:21 left in the first half. The Lady Chaps made 13 consecutive field goals during the run. They led 50-41 at halftime shooting 60.6% (20/33) from the field in the first half. They were 16-of-22 (72.7%) inside the perimeter.
 
Bailey Haist made a free-throw with 14:21 left in the second half for LCU's largest second half lead (57-45). They maintained the lead until OCU's late rally in the final three minutes.
 
Three players had double-double performances in the game. Wallace had 19 points and 10 rebounds for her double-double to lead OCU. Rateska Brown poured in 21 points, Yvonte Neal added 19 points and Ouleymatou Coulibaly scored 11 points to aid the Stars. LCU's Kellyn Schneider had 12 points and 12 rebounds in her second double-double of the season. Her 12 points tied a career high and she also matched a career high in blocks (8), coming two shy of a triple-double. Teammate Haley Burton had her third career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. LCU had five players in double figures in points, with Haist (career high 15 points), Allison Szabo (15 points) and Taylor (13 points) each joining Burton and Schneider. LCU was without Haley Fowler, who missed the game due to an injury. The Lady Chaps produced 12 blocks in the game.