HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
ST.EDWARD'S (12-16, No.6 Seed) vs. No.1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (28-0, No.1 Seed)
Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 1 PM                               
Union Multipurpose Activities Center (Tulsa, Okla.)
TV: ESPN3 (WatchESPN app)  
Radio: KJTV am950/100.7fm    
All-Time Series: LCU leads 7-4
Tweet #LCUvsSEU


TITLE GAME
Lubbock Christian University, making their first ever appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament, seeks to claim their first ever Heartland Conference Tournament championship Sunday facing St. Edward's University at 1 p.m. in the tournament championship game. LCU defeated eighth-seeded Texas-Permian Basin 79-33 Thursday and fifth-seeded St.Mary's 63-42 Saturday to reach the title game, while SEU topped third-seeded Texas A&M International 71-65 Thursday and second-seeded Arkansas-Fort Smith 78-63 Saturday.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
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 Saturday 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, who finish their season with an 18-10 mark.
 
FOR STARTERS
LCU is 28-0 this season and has yet to face a loss. It is their best start in program history, surpassing a 16-0 start from the 2012-2013 season. They are one of two NCAA Div. II teams entering Thursday undefeated on the season. The other is Limestone.

MARGINS
LCU has the national lead in average margin of victory at 30.7. They have outscored their opponents by at least 20 points in 24 of their 28 games this season, and have a 35.9 average margin of victory over the past 10 games.

BACK ON TOP
The new national rankings were released Tuesday and LCU remained No.1 by D2SIDA and in the WBCA/USA Today (Coaches Poll), and are the lone No.1 in the Coaches Poll, as Alaska-Anchorage lost last weekend. This season marks LCU's second season eligible in the D2SIDA poll and the first in the Coaches Poll. Jan. 19 marked LCU's debut at No.1 in the D2SIDA Poll and Jan. 26 marked their debut at No.1 in the Coaches Poll. LCU is receiving 10 of 16 first-place votes in the D2SIDA poll and 18 of 24 first-place votes in the Coaches Poll.  The D2SIDA poll is voted on by sports information directors and the WBCA/USA Today is voted on by WBCA coaches.

BLOCK PARTY
The Lady Chaps lead the nation in blocks per game with an average of 7.0 per game. They also lead in total blocks  (195). Kellyn Schneider ranks eighth nationally in blocks per game (2.9) and in total blocks (77). Teammate Tess Bruffey is not far behind, ranking 21st in blocks per game (2.3) and 22nd in total blocks (63). Schneider's 77 blocks this season are ranking as the third highest single-season total in program history and Bruffey's 63 ranks as the fifth best single season mark.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA released their third South Central Region regional rankings of the season Wednesday and LCU was ranked No.1 in the region.  The final regional rankings determine the eight-team regional field to open NCAA Div. II postseason play (following conference tournaments). The top team in the region receives hosting

1    Lubbock Christian
2    West Texas A&M
3    Colorado State - Pueblo
4    Colorado School of Mines
5    Black Hills State
6    Texas Woman's
7    Angelo State
8    Regis (Colorado)
9    Colorado - Colorado Springs
10    Arkansas - Fort Smith

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES   
LCU is the only program in NCAA Div. II which ranks in the top-five in field goal shooting (leads at 51.2%) and field goal defense (second nationally holding opponents to a 32.0% shooting mark).

ON TOP OF THE HILL   
Kelsey Hoppel has a team-leading 15.5 points per game average against SEU this season. She is one of three Lady Chaps that has averaged double figures in points against SEU in the two prior games. Nicole Hampton averages 15 points, 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals against SEU this season.  Hoppel is 9-of-13 (.692) against SEU on the season, and LCU as a team is 54.3% (19/35) from three-point range against the Hilltoppers (SEU is 19.4%, 6/31 vs. LCU in the same category).
           
MILESTONE WATCH
-Nicole Hampton is 17 assists from passing Sierra Lovorn's program leading career assist mark of 633 from 2005-09.
-Kelsey Hoppel is two three-pointers away from setting the program single-season mark for three-pointers. The current top number is 74, which has been done three times.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TIME
LCU is seeking their second postseason tournament title in program history. Their only prior postseason tournament title win was the 2013 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. If LCU wins and they cut down the nets, it will mark the first time ever they have cut down nets in a postseason tournament. In Shawnee, Okla. at the 2013 SAC Tournament, tournament host Oklahoma Baptist did not have a ladder for LCU members to cut down nets following the title win over Oklahoma City.

TIME WARP
Since the NCAA adapted "quarters" this season, LCU had never trailed after any quarter of play until the first quarter on Dec. 19 at St. Mary's. It ended a streak of 36 consecutive quarters in which LCU had led at the completion of the quarter. LCU has led 91.0% of their season through 28 games, with a total amount of time in the lead at 1023:43 of their 1125 minutes played this season. Their opponents have led a total of 54:42 (4.9%) this season. LCU has led throughout in 11 games this season and have trailed less than 50 seconds in 18 of their games. Their current streak (entering Sunday) is 58 consecutive quarters completed with the lead.

THEY HAVE HEART-LAND
As active roster members, redshirt-seniors Nicole Hampton and Kelsey Hoppel went 38-0 in Heartland Conference games. They  were also part of 41 consecutive conference wins. Their last loss in a conference game was Feb. 14, 2013 against Rogers State.

ALL-CONFERENCE MEMBERS
Head Coach Steve Gomez claimed his third Coach of the Year honors and his first in the Heartland Conference. All five of his starters he has had throughout during the season all claimed Heartland Conference honors:

Nicole Hampton: First Team
Tess Bruffey: First Team
Kelsey Hoppel: Second Team
Kellyn Schneider: Honorable Mention
Haley Fowler: Honorable Mention

Conference Player of the Year: Nicole Hampton
Conference Defensive Player of the Year: Kellyn Schneider

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SEU
• The Hilltoppers are 12-16 overall on the season and finished with an  8-10 conference record after falling in three of their final four regular season games.
• The Heartland Conference preseason polls had SEU preseason picked fourth in the conference.
• SEU has won two straight games in the tournament, which marks the first time they have won consecutive games since Jan. 16 and 21.
• Shakera Barnes leads the Hilltoppers with 13.8 points and 5.0 assists per game. She average 15 points a game this season vs. LCU.
• Khiani Clark leads the conference and is 15th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4).  

THE SERIES AGAINST SEU
With six straight Heartland Conference wins over SEU, LCU has the all-time series lead at 7-4. LCU won 78-62 on Jan. 23 (Lubbock, Texas) and  95-44 on (Feb. 18) in their prior meetings this season.

PRIOR MEETING VS. SEU
Feb. 18, 2016 (Austin, Texas): LCU 95 - SEU 44
Five Lady Chaparrals tallied double figures in points as top-ranked Lubbock Christian University shot a season-high 64.2% from the field and 64.7% from three-point range to defeat St. Edward's University 95-44 in Heartland Conference play Thursday night inside Recreation and Convocation Center.

The game was much closer than the final score indicated early, as SEU benefited off seven offensive rebounds in the opening quarter leading to four more shot attempts than LCU. The score was tied 14-14 with 1:56 remaining in the quarter and Kelsey Hoppel hit her third three-pointer of the quarter to help LCU close the quarter on a 7-2 run for a 21-16 lead.

SEU and LCU traded blows early in the second quarter, as each had a simultaneous stretch going 3-for-4 from the field. The stretch would end with for SEU with 5:54 remaining in the quarter. The Hilltoppers would go a stretch of 7:24 without a field goal, as LCU countered the SEU dry spell with a 20-1 run. The run was delayed with halftime hitting during the run and LCU had a 43-25 halftime lead, out-scoring SEU 22-9 in the second quarter.

LCU was 64.3% (18/28) from the field in the opening half and had a 24-8 scoring advantage in the paint. Hoppel (12 points) and Nicole Hampton (11 points) combined for 23 points in the first half.

The Hilltoppers ended the 20-1 run with a layup from Abby Hopper in the third quarter, but it did not jumpstart their offense. They continued going the following 12:16 with just one field goal and LCU struck up a 25-5 run for a 74-32 lead as 6:14 remained in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Chaps struggled allowing eight offensive rebounds in the first half, but in the third quarter, LCU held SEU to one offensive rebound despite the Hilltoppers missing 11 field goal attempts in the quarter.

Most of LCU's starters exited the game during the third quarter, but that did not stop LCU's scoring. Allea Harris produced a career-high 11 points, with all 11 points coming in the second half and over a 10 minute span of play. Bailey Haist (11 points) and Claire Bruffey (five points) combined for 16 points during the fourth quarter.

LCU was 64.2% (34/53) from the field for their best shooting performance since their record mark of 69.2% on Nov. 29, 2014 (vs. Eastern New Mexico). Their mark of 11-of-17 (64.7%) from long-range was their best three-point shooting mark since a 66.7% team performance on Feb. 21, 2015 against Texas-Permian Basin.

While LCUs shots were falling, the same could not be said for SEU, who shot 30.5% (18/59) from the field. They were 1-of-13 (7.7%) from the three-point range, marking the fewest three-point field goals made by a LCU opponent since St. Mary's was held to one on Feb. 15, 2014. Shakera Barnes led SEU with 12 points and was one of the 'Toppers few bright spots. Khiani Clark (0-of-4), Lexi Fatheree (1-of-7), and Bailey Hill (0-of-7) combined to shoot 5.6% (1-of-18) from the field.

SEU missed 41 field goal attempts leading to a lot of rebound opportunities. The Hilltoppers led the category, out-rebounding LCU 33-31, with 17 of the rebounds offensive. It is the second time this season LCU has been out-rebounded.

Hampton and Hoppel co-led LCU with 15 points. LCU also received 13 points from Tess Bruffey (11 points in the third quarter) and 11 points each from Bailey Haist and Harris. Hampton also had a team-leading seven assists, four steals and five assists.