LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (5-6, 0-0) at ST. MARY'S (10-2, 2-0)
Saturday, December 31, 2016 - 1:00 p.m.
Bill Greehey Arena (San Antonio, Texas)
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm
All-Time Series: LCU leads 9-2
CLOSING AND OPENINGS
Lubbock Christian University, who has not played at home since Nov. 21, continue's their eight-game road trip Saturday with a New Year's Eve tilt in San Antonio facing St. Mary's University. Their eight-game trip will come to a close Monday evening in Laredo, Texas, facing Texas A&M International. LCU enters Saturday's play 2-4 on the road trip, which spans 39 days and covers four different states and one U.S. territory (Puerto Rico). LCU has only played on of the six games, of the current road trip, in Texas, which was a 75-66 win on Dec. 13 at Tarleton State in Stephenville. Saturday's game serves as the Lady Chaps Heartland Conference opener and Monday's game will mark their first game of the 2017 calendar year.
LOOKING BACK AT THEIR LAST CONTEST
Although a small losing streak, Lubbock Christian University's worst losing streak since 2005 came to an end Tuesday inside Wisdom Gym, as the three-game losing streak was halted by a 17-point performance by
Tess Bruffey, joined by a nine-point fourth quarter from
Bailey Haist and a double-double from
Allison Szabo (11 rebounds, 10 points), to lead the Lady Chaparrals to a 75-66 win over Tarleton State University. The win was LCU's second ever win in Stephenville, where LCU improved to 2-11 all-time.
LCU had to overcome a third quarter scoring surge by the TexAnns in the contest. The Lady Chaps led 44-35 with 3:40 left in the third quarter, but during a sequence of 10 consecutive TexAnn possessions, LCU was whistled for six defensive related fouls. TSU hit consecutive and-ones and eight free throws during the span and also had an 8-0 run (six of the points from the line) to take a 45-44 lead with 1:47 left in the quarter. LCU did not wait long to regain the lead.
Claire Bruffey scored five straight points for LCU and jumpstarted a 6-0 run over a 1:54 span for a 52-46 LCU lead.
The 6-0 run eventually turned into a 14-2 run. Haist ignited in the core of the run with six straight points. She was fouled on a made three-pointer for a four-point-play and then followed with a layup 16 seconds later to give LCU a 60-47 lead with 7:31 remaining. Bailey Wipff, a Lubbock Coronado High School product, attempted to rally the TexAnns back with a 10-point fourth quarter. She had a pair of three-pointers, but the best she could do was cut LCU's lead to 59-66 with 3:45 remaining, as LCU held off TSU with 76.9% (10-of-13) shooting in the fourth quarter. They led as much as 75-61 (1:34 remaining in the game).
The Lady Chaps opened the game on a 6-0 run, hitting their first four field goal attempts.
Bobbi Chitsey, who started in the paint, had five points in the opening 2:32 for LCU and helped LCU jump out to a 13-3 advantage. The Lady Chaps opened the game 8-of-10 from the field. Ikpeaku Iwobi helped cap a 12-4 TSU run in the second quarter, cutting the LCU lead to 24-2 with 3:19 left in the half, but LCU responded holding the TexAnns off the scoreboard the final 3:19 of the half and received a three-pointer from
Allea Harris to take a 30-22 lead into the half.
LCU shot a season-best 50.8% from the field (30/59), shooting 56.7% in the second half. They out-rebounded TSU 41-29. TSU's Mackenzie Haley led all scorers with 19 points and capped a double-double with 10 boards. They also received 18 points from Wipff and 14 from Iwobi.
Tess Bruffey led LCU with 17 points. She opened the game 1-of-7 from the field, but then tallied buckets on six of her next eight attempts to finish 7-of-15 from the field. Haist finished with 14 points and Szabo completed her second straight game with a double-double (fifth of her career) with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hannah Harbin led LCU with five assists and did not have a turnover.
OPEN HEART
Saturday marks LCU's fourth Heartland Conference opener, after spending the prior 19 seasons in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Lady Chaps went 11-8 all-time in SAC openers and are 3-0 in HC openers. They are 12-1 all-time in conference openers under head coach Steve Gomez. They have won their past 11 consecutive conference openers.
DOUBLING UP
Allison Szabo is entering the game coming off back-to-back double-double performances. She had three in her career prior to posting 14 points and 13 rebounds at Southwestern Oklahoma State and following at Tarleton State with 11 rebounds and 10 points. She has increased her rebounding average to a season best 7.6 per game.
LENDING A HAND
Hannah Harbin, who has been consistently good with her assist/turnover ratio, hit a three-game lull from Nov. 26 - Dec. 3 in which she had 13 assists and 13 turnovers. In the past two games she has bounced back on track with 10 assists and two turnovers. She has only produced more than two turnovers in a game twice, and each time occurred during the three-game stretch previously mentioned. Her assist/turnover ratio is third in the conference at 1.44.
D-FENCE
LCU's defense ranks 13th nationally, holding the opposition to a 33.5% shooting mark, despite ranking 260th nationally in three-point shooting defense (35.1%). LCU has allowed 78 three-pointers this season, but inside the arc, their defense has held opponents to a 32.6% shooting mark.
MILESTONES
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Tess Bruffey is 22 points shy of 900 career points.
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Tess Bruffey has hit the mark of 200 career blocks and is five blocks away from 205, which would move her into the top spot, past
Kellyn Schneider (204), as LCU's career blocks leader.
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Allison Szabo is seven blocks shy of 93 career blocks, which would move her into fifth on LCU's career blocks list and ahead of Mamy N'Kolomoni, who had 93 blocks from 1998-2002.
BLOCKING THINGS OUT
LCU, who led NCAA in blocks last season, ranks third in the NCAA this season in blocks per game (6.4) and is fifth in total blocks (70).
Tess Bruffey ranks third nationally in blocks per game (4.0) and is fourth in total blocks (36).
Allison Szabo ranks 38th in blocks (20).
CHECKING THE CALENDAR
Saturday marks LCU's final game of the 2016 calendar year. LCU is enters Saturday's game with a 29-6 record in games played during the 2016 calendar year. LCU is 4-1 all-time on New Year's Eve. They have won their last three New Year's Eve games, with the last resulting in a 96-51 win last season over Oklahoma Panhandle State at home. LCU is 3-1 all-time in New Year's Eve games played under head coach
Steve Gomez and 2-0 all-time in conference games (1-0 in Heartland) played on New Year's Eve.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT StMU
• The Rattlers, who went 18-10 last season (9-3 at home) are off to a solid 10-2 start this season and are 2-0 in conference play. Their only losses have come against Texas A&M Kingsville.
• The Heartland preseason picked StMU to finish fourth in the conference. They went 11-7 in conference play last season.
• StMU is 8-1 in their last nine games and coming off a 76-53 win (Dec. 19) over Arkansas Fort Smith, which has them winners of their last two games (five straight wins at home).
• The Rattlers perimeter defense leads the conference with the nation's eight best mark for opposing shooting percentage, holding opponents to a shooting low of 23% from the three-point line.
• Labraile Fields ranks fifth nationally in steals per game with a mark of 3.4 per contest.
THE SERIES AGAINST StMU
LCU leads the all-times series 9-2 over StMU. They have won nine of the last 10 meetings. LCU is 6-1 against the Rattlers since joining the Heartland.
PREVIOUS RECAP VS. StMU
Mar. 5, 2016 (Tulsa, Okla.) - LCU :63 - StMU:42
Tess Bruffey led No.1 Lubbock Christian University with 20 points and the Lady Chaparrals held fifth-seeded St. Mary's University to one field goal in the second quarter to advance to the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship Game with a 63-42 win at John Q. Hammons Arena (UMAC).
Some Lady Chaps have been challenging sickness and injuries, with the latest injury coming Friday during practice, which has sidelined Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Kellyn Schneider to a day-to-day basis. Her absence Saturday forced head coach
Steve Gomez to turn in a different lineup for the first time this season.
With Schneider sidelined, Bruffey and
Haley Fowler stepped up their role offensively in the game. The two split the team's opening 12 points of the game and they were much needed during the quarter, which featured five lead changes. Fowler had nine points in the opening quarter and LCU led 19-18 at the close of the quarter.
Mariah Lee converted on a field goal attempt 3:03 into the second quarter, cutting LCU's lead to 21-20, but things went south from there for the Rattlers. They went the next 7:38 without a field goal. StMU was 1-for-6 from the field during the quarter. Meanwhile, LCU went on a 15-2 run and led 33-22 at the half. LCU outscored the Rattlers 14-4 in the quarter and
Nicole Hampton had eight of the points for LCU.
Bruffey and
Allison Szabo, who started for Schneider, combined for 14 points in the third quarter and their offense was the pulse of a 13-3 run to give LCU a 49-27 lead with 2:09 left in the quarter. StMU went on a 12-2 run carrying into the fourth quarter and cut LCU's lead down to 51-39 with 7:06 left. It would be as close as StMU would get as they were held to one field goal the rest of the way and LCU closed the game on a 12-3 run.
LCU was 54.5% (12/22) from the field in the second half (9-for-14 from inside the arc) and they held StMU to 31.8% (7/22) in the half. Overall, LCU was 51.1% (24/47) from the field. LCU had a 38-18 advantage in scoring in the paint. Bruffey registered her fourth game of at least 20 points of the season. She was 9-of-13 from the field. Hampton finished with 14 points and Fowler produced 12 points for LCU. Kiara Etheridge led StMU with 14 points and Mariah Lee was behind her with 10 points for the Rattlers.
