LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (4-3) at SOUTHWEST BAPTIST (4-1)
Thursday, December 1, 2016 - 5:30 p.m.
John Q. Hammons Court (Bolivar, Mo.)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm
All-Time Series: No Prior Meetings
VACATION IS OVER
Lubbock Christian University arrived back to Lubbock, Texas Monday evening from their 2,500 mile journey to the Puerto Rico Clasico in San Juan, Puerto Rico, only to hop on a bus Wednesday morning en route to Bolivar, Mo., where LCU begins a tough road test Thursday facing Southwest Baptist University. They follow the contest with a trip to Emporia, Kan. Saturday afternoon to face No.1 Emporia State. LCU is 1-3 overall in games played away from home and 0-1 in true road games.
LOOKING BACK AT THEIR LAST CONTEST
Tess Bruffey was two points shy of a triple-double, posting a career high 15 rebounds and matching her own single-game program record with 10 blocks, as her double-double was part of a 47-39 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday morning in a Puerto Rico Clasico contest inside Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
Bruffey matched the single-game program record, which she set on Dec. 13, 2014 at Midwestern State. Seven of the blocks came in the second half. Her 15 rebounds topped her prior total high of 14 (Nov. 19 vs. Texas Permian Basin) and was the highest rebound total by an LCU individual since
Nicole Hampton recorded 17 last season at Rollins (Nov. 28, 2015, ironically in the second game of last season's Thanksgiving tournament). The double-double for Bruffey is her third of the season and sixth of her career.
LCU jumped out with a solid start, starting the game with a 5-0 run led by a three-pointer from
Delaney Gaddis. The Lady Chaps received six points in the first quarter by
Hannah Harbin, who hit a pair of free throws at the quarter's close to give LCU a 19-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
Allison Szabo hit a jumper to build the lead to 21-12, but then LCU went without a field goal over a span of just under four minutes and the Bears came back with a 7-0 run to cut LCU's lead to 21-19. Lenoir-Rhyne outscored LCU 11-5 in the quarter and cut LCU's lead to 24-23 heading into the half.
The Bears momentum would end there, as LCU opened the second half on an 11-0 run.
Claire Bruffey nailed a three-pointer and LCU led 35-23 with 4:11 left in the quarter. Lenoir-Rhyne was held to three points in the quarter and went without a field goal in the quarter until Alecia Bell's layup with 1:37 remained in the quarter.
Claire Bruffey's three-pointer was LCU's final field goal of the third quarter, but they added to the 35-26 lead to start the fourth quarter with a Harbin three-point play 10 seconds into the quarter.
Allison Szabo followed with a three-pointer and LCU took their biggest lead at 41-26. LCU went the final 4:13 without a field goal, but their lead was secure.
Harbin was the game's only double-figure scorer, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. LCU was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line (81.8%) in the game that only witnessed 23 combined fouls called. LCU's games in Puerto Rico resulted in an average of 10 less fouls and 10 less free throws per game called than their prior five combined games.
BLOCK PARTY RETURNS
LCU led the nation in blocks last season and one of the big contributors in LCU's block success was
Kellyn Schneider, who rewrote the Heartland Conference record books in blocks. Schneider, who had over 200 blocks in her two-year LCU career has graduated (now an assistant on the LCU staff) and is no longer on the roster, but LCU is still one of the top defensive teams in the nation in blocks. The Lady Chaps are second in the nation in blocks (45), with
Tess Bruffey (23) ranking third nationally and
Allison Szabo (13) ranking 17th nationally. Each are top two leaders in the conference. Bruffey matched a program single-game record and career record with 10 blocks Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne. She moved into second on LCU's all-time career blocks list with 187.
SUB-50
Saturday, in LCU's 47-39 win over Lenoir-Rhyne in Puerto Rico, LCU won their first game under
Steve Gomez when scoring less than 50 points. It marked the first time LCU won a game by scoring less than 50 points since a 48-46 win over Wayland Baptist on Jan. 11, 1997. LCU has now scored less than 50 points in consecutive games for the first time since scoring 47 (Jan.9) and 41 points (Jan.11) of the 1992-93 season.
ENDING A TREND
If there is a trend the Lady Chaps are trying to buck, it is their streak of turnovers. LCU, started the season with an average of 11.5 turnovers a game, with 46 turnovers combined over their first four games. Since then, LCU has committed 69 over their last three games for an average of 23 per game. They have committed over 20 turnovers in their last three consecutive games marking the first time they have had three straight games with at least 20 turnovers in a single season since the 2005-2006 season (1/28/06 - 2/2/06).
MILESTONES
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Tess Bruffey is 13 blocks shy of eclipsing 200 career blocks.
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Allison Szabo is 10 points shy of 700 career points.
D-FENCE
Along with the "blocking" presence LCU has displayed on defense, their defense ranks seventh nationally in defensive field goal percentage (opponents shooting 30.4%) and 12th in scoring (opponents averaging 51.1 points per game). The Lady Chaps also rank sixth nationally, only claiming 13.4 fouls per game.
MORE THAN A GAME
Saturday, LCU will face No.1 Emporia State, marking the third ranked opponent for LCU this season. LCU is 1-1 this season against ranked foes, with a win over NAIA No.22 ranked Wayland Baptist and a loss to No.19 Grand Valley State. The last time LCU faced a No.1 team was Mar. 19, 2012, as LCU fell 85-56 in a Fab Four contest against NAIA No.1 Oklahoma City at the NAIA National Tournament in Frankfort, Ky.
ON THE BOARDS
LCU's
Tess Bruffey ranks tied for 18th nationally with an average of 11.4 rebounds per game. She has had at least 10 rebounds in three games this season. Prior to this season, the junior only had at least 10 rebounds in three games (63 game span).
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SBU
• The Bearcats are coming off a 16-13 record last season, which included an 82-71 home win over No.1 Fort Hays State, which aided an 11-5 home record.
• The Mid America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) preseason picked SBU to finish 10th conference. They went 11-11 in conference play last season.
• SBU is 4-1 on the season, which does not include a 73-71 exhibition loss at Nebraska. They are coming off an 81-47 win at home over NAIA Missouri Baptist, which improved their home record to 4-0 on the season.
• The Bearcats rank second nationally with a 19 rebound margin, ranking 12th nationally with an average of 32 rebounds per game.
• Caylee Richardson leads the Bearcats and ranks 29th nationally in free-throw percentage with a mark of 92.3% (24-of-26).
THE SERIES AGAINST SBU
LCU and SBU have never faced each other. The meeting will mark the first match-up between the two teams.
