No.22 WAYLAND BAPTIST (3-0) at No. 11 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (2-2)
Monday, November 21, 2016 - 6 p.m.                                          
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm
All-Time Series: WBU leads 38-26
Tweet #LCUvsWBU
 
BEFORE WE TAKE OFF
Lubbock Christian University has a busy Thanksgiving Week, which will include three games spanning 2,500 miles. It may be tough figuring out when one week ends and a new one begins, as Monday, LCU is hosting Wayland Baptist University. The game completes a three-games-in-four-days span and serves as the opening game of the current week. Following the game, LCU will head to the Puerto Rico Clasico, where they will play Friday (Grand Valley State) and Saturday (Lenoir Rhyne) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Monday's game is a regular season contest for LCU, but the Flying Queens are counting the contest as an exhibition game.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THEIR LAST CONTEST
No.11 Lubbock Christian University outscored Texas Permian Basin 40-6 in the paint and received a combined 29 points from Allison Szabo (15 points) and Bobbi Chitsey (14 points) to close the Arbor Hotels Classic with a 61-37 win Saturday evening at Rip Griffin Center.
 
In the fourth quarter, LCU was 66.7% from the field and had nearly just as many field goals (10) in the quarter as UTPB had in the entire game (12).  Szabo and Chitsey each had six points in the quarter, as LCU outscored the Falcons 21-5 in the quarter (16-2 scoring advantage in the paint).
 
The game had early signs of an LCU blowout after LCU opened with a 7-2 lead, but UTPB battled back. The Falcons answered with a 6-2 run and LCU led 12-8 after the opening quarter. LCU opened the second quarter with free throws from Tess Bruffey to lead 14-8, but the lead would turn out to be their largest lead of the first half. Briana Caro hit back-to-back three-pointers for UTPB and tied the game 14-14. She ended up with nine points in the quarter for UTPB. Hannah Harbin, who led LCU in first half scoring with seven points, hit LCU's only three-pointer in the first half and it was the difference to give LCU a 24-21 halftime lead.
 
The Falcons opened the second half with a 5-0 run capped by a Niva Taito three-pointer and took a 26-24 lead. LCU went the opening four minutes of the half without a field goal, but once Delaney Gaddis hit a jumper to end the dry spell, the Lady Chaps responded with a 14-1 run. LCU led 40-32 at the end of the third quarter. Over the final seven minutes, LCU went on a 19-2 run to close the game surging to the 61-37 final.
 
LCU shot 54.8% (17/31) in the second half and finished the game 44.4% (24/54) from the field (LCU was 50% from the field, 22-of-44, inside the arc). UTPB, with five field goals in the second half, was 23.1% (12/52) from the field in the game. Taito was UTPB's leading scorer with 10 points.
 
Tess Bruffey, playing in her second game of the season, recorded her second straight double-double with 14 rebounds and 10 points. She also had three blocks and a game high four assists. Szabo and Chitsey also finished with eight rebounds each.
 
ROAD TRIP
After Monday's contest against Wayland Baptist, LCU will play eight consecutive games away from Rip Griffin Center, which includes a lot of miles with games in Puerto Rico, Missouri and Laredo, Texas covered in the eight-game stretch. LCU will return home Jan. 5, 2017 to face Arkansas Fort Smith.
 
TESS IS BACK
Tess Bruffey made her season debut Friday night, after missing the opening week of action, and produced back-to-back double-doubles in LCU's 2-0 week, which led to the Heartland Conference naming her the Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. She produced 19 points and 11 rebounds against Colorado School of Mines and followed with 14 boards and 10 points against Texas Permian Basin. Her weekly totals include seven blocks and five assists with a per-game average of 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. Her two double-doubles places her with five in her career (only three prior to her two games this season). The honor for Bruffey is her second career conference weekly honor. Ironically, her prior award came during the second week of play last season.
 
SASSY SOPHOMORES
Sophomore's Bobbi Chitsey and Olivia Robertson are each averaging double figures in points this season, with Chitsey averaging 12 points and Robertson averaging 10 points a game. Chitsey is averaging 14.3 points a game over the past three games. She is 16-of-21 from the field (76.1%) in that span and is 10-of-12 (83.3%) in the past two combined games. Robertson had a 20-point output on Nov. 12 against CSU-Pueblo.
 
MILESTONES
- Tess Bruffey surpassed 800 points in her career Saturday, with her 10-point performance placing her with 801 career points.
- Bailey Haist is one three-pointer shy of 100 in her LCU career.
 
TURNING THINGS OVER
LCU has forced 57 turnovers, while committing 46 (conference best). LCU has not committed more than 14 turnovers in a game this season and averages 11.5 turnovers per game. 
 
HOME GAMES
LCU has won 26 consecutive home games, with their last loss at home occurring Nov. 28, 2014 (Tarleton State in overtime). Benedict holds the active NCAA Div. II mark with 27 straight home wins.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WBU
• WBU is coming off a 25-5 season, which included a trip to the NAIA National Tournament in Independence, Missouri, where they lost out in the opening round to Pikeville.
• The Sooner Athletic Conference preseason picked the Flying Queens to finish second. They went 17-1 in the SAC last season.
• WBU is 3-0 this season. This is their second exhibition game after falling to West Texas A&M 61-56.
• The Flying Queens rank fourth in NAIA in steals per game (15.3) and turnover margin (12).
• Jade Jones ranks seventh in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (9), 10^th in total rebounds per game (12.3) and 15^th in steals per game.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST WBU
WBU leads the overall all-time record between the two teams 38-26, but LCU has won 19 of the last 21 meetings and they are 20-4 against WBU under head coach Steve Gomez. The two teams did play a full exhibition game on Nov. 1, 2014, with LCU winning 76-55. The last regular season meeting resulted in a 72-55 win by LCU in Plainview, Texas on Feb. 19, 2013. The last regular season meeting in Lubbock was on Dec. 4, 2012 with LCU winning 96-66.
 
PRIOR MEETING VS.WBU
Feb. 19, 2013 (Plainview, Texas): LCU 72 - WBU 55
Kelsey Canavan registered her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds and No.5 Lubbock Christian University completed a 72-55 win over Wayland Baptist University in what may be the final Sooner Athletic Conference meeting between the two West Texas rivals.
 
Never trailing in the game, LCU jumped out to a quick 17-7 advantage midway through the first half before reaching their largest lead of the half at 36-20 with 28 seconds remaining before the break. LCU hit 44 percent of its field goal attempts, as well as 6-of-8 from the charity stripe, which led to a 36-22 LCU lead at intermission. Wayland shot 29% from the floor and made just 1-of-5 from long range. LCU outscored Wayland 20-14 in the paint, but the Queens had the advantage on points off turnovers (8-6), second chance points (9-7) and bench points (7-5). Emily Atkins scored 11 first half points to lead the Lady Chaps.
 
Canavan fired up in the second half for the Lady Chaps finishing with 10 points in the second half alone. The game was never in question in the second half, as LCU led as much as 23 points (58-35, 7:50 remaining) and never led by less than 13 points.  Kelsey Hoppel also helped LCU maintain a comfortable lead with nine points in the second half.
 
LCU had three players in double digits with Canavan being joined by Atkins (16 points) and Hoppel (12 points). WBU was not able to get any players in double digit scoring but CeCe Williams led the Flying Queens with nine points. It marked the second straight game LCU has held an opponent without a player in double figures. The Lady Chaps out-rebounded Wayland, 49-38.
 
LCU improves to 25-3 overall and 12-3 in SAC play. Wayland moves to 14-15 overall and 6-9 in the SAC. The Lady Chaps have won 19 of the last 21meetings between the two teams and head coach Steve Gomez improved to 20-4 all-time against the Flying Queens. LCU will wrap up conference play at home Thursday against USAO at 6 p.m.