TEXAS PERMIAN BASIN (0-3) at No.23 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (4-0)
Saturday, November 18 - 6:00 PM                                              
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: 100.7 FM "The Score"
All-Time Series: LCU leads 19-0
Tweet #LCUvsUTPB
 
CLOSING THE CLASSIC
The No.23 Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals closes the 2017 edition of the Chap Classic Saturday hosting University of Texas of the Permian Basin with a 6 p.m. tip inside Rip Griffin Center, where the Lady Chaps have the nation's longest home win streak (36 games). LCU seeks a 5-0 start to the season, while UTPB comes in seeking their first win of the season.
 
FRIDAY FLASHBACK
No.23 Lubbock Christian University matched a program record shooting 66.7% from three-point range, and the mark of 12-of-18 is their best downtown shooting mark with more than 10 three-pointers, as the Lady Chaparrals marched past Western New Mexico 85-44 in their home opener Friday evening inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
Six different Lady Chaps nailed three-pointers in the game, with Caitlyn Cunyus leading the Lady Chaps with a career high five three-pointers on 5-of-8 shooting. LCU's prior performance of 66.7% shooting from long range (at least 10 three-pointers made) came on Feb. 28, 2008, with LCU going 10-of-15 from three-point range against Science & Arts of Oklahoma inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
LCU was off and running early, with Cunyus nailing her first three-pointer 2:27 into the contest to cap an 8-0 run to start the game. Kailin Davis jumped into the mix later in the opening quarter with a trey as part of a 10-0 run. LCU closed the quarter 6-of-8 from the field and led 26-11 at the end of the quarter. WNMU only made consecutive shot attempts once in the game, and it came during a stretch of four consecutive made attempts in the second quarter. LCU was still able to outscore the Mustangs 20-18 in the half and LCU led 44-31 at the half. LCU was 7-of-10 from the perimeter in the first half (3-of-3 in the first quarter). Davis led LCU with 14 points in the half. Cunyus was 4-of-6 from three-point range with 12 points in the half.
 
Maddi Chitsey opened the second half with a three-pointer for the Lady Chaps and it sparked a 20-5 scoring run for LCU, building their lead to 64-36. LCU would lead by at least 26 points the rest of the way. Chitsey led LCU with 10 points in the second half.  She combined with sister, Bobbi, to go 6-of-9 from the field (3-of-3 from three-point range) and 17 points in the second half. LCU, finishing the game shooting 55.4% from the field (31/56), shot 59.3% (16/27) from the field in the second half.
 
Davis led all scorers with 16 points, going 6-of-8 from the field in her Rip Griffin Center debut. Another player somewhat familiar with the Rip Griffin Center was WNMU's Ciara Fields, who played junior college basketball for 2017 NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament (Rip Griffin Center was the host venue) qualifier Cochise College. Fields led WNMU with 12 points.  WNMU was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the game to provide a bright spot for the Mustangs, who fell to 0-3. 
 
Maddi Chitsey (career high) and Cunyus each supplied LCU with 15 points. They were each 5-of-8 from the field.    
 
OPEN HOUSE
With their win Friday, the Lady Chaps have won six consecutive home openers with Friday's win. Their last home opening loss was a 61-44 loss to Metro State on Nov. 5, 2011. LCU improved to 14-1 all-time in home openers under Steve Gomez.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
D2SIDA has LCU ranked No.23 in their Women's Basketball Preseason Media National Poll. LCU has found their way into the D2SIDA preseason poll four consecutive seasons, marking every season they have been eligible to appear (due to the transfer from NAIA to NCAA Div. II), ranking No. 4 (2016-17), No.15 (2015-16) and receiving votes in 2014-15. LCU was the third highest ranked team in the South Central Region, behind No.5 Colorado State – Pueblo and No.13 West Texas A&M. The D2SIDA polls are voted on by a committee of sports information directors at Division II member institutions nationwide.
 
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association released their 2017-18 Women's Basketball NCAA Div. II Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll and Lubbock Christian University opened the season receiving votes. The WBCA NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Preseason Poll is another poll LCU has consistently debut in each season since being eligible. Last season, LCU opened the season ranked No.11, which was their highest WBCA preseason poll ranking. In 2015, they debuted at No.18 before making their way to No.1 en route their NCAA Division II national title. The next round of national rankings come out next week.
 
MAKING IT THROUGH
LCU was one of 84-teams that made it through the weekend nationally (in NCAA Div. II) without a loss on the season and is the only Heartland Conference team without a blemish. LCU is sitting 4-0 for the second time since the 2012-13 season.  They went 16-0 to open the 2012-13 season and 35-0 to open and complete their 2015-16 championship season.
 
DOWNTOWN
The Lady Chaps entered the weekend leading the Heartland Conference and ranking 19th nationally with 25 three-pointers made on the season.  LCU has received three-point field goals from 11 different individuals, led by 10 from Caitlyn Cunyus. They are averaging 9.3 per game, which is above a 7.3 pace last season and a 7.5 rate in 2015-16. LCU has produced at least 10 three-pointers in their prior three games, which is a task they completed once in the opening 12 games of last season.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT UTPB
• Texas Permian Basin is following a 7-20 season, which included a 3-17 Lone Star Conference record and a 4-9 road mark.
• The Lone Star Conference preseason picked the Falcons tenth in the conference.
• Rae Boothe takes over the Falcons, making the move from another Falcons squad... Friends University (an NAIA program in Wichita, Kan.). She heads to Lubbock looking for her first coaching win under UTPB. She went 159-67 in seven seasons at Friends, which featured five national tournament appearances.
• The Falcons fired up 87 three-point attempts in their opening two games to enter the weekend ranking eighth in the nation. They were below their average in attempts Friday, posting 16 attempts from long range.
• UTPB heads into Saturday's play 0-3 after a 50-46 loss to St. Mary's. They led through the third quarter, but were outscored 20-12 in the fourth quarter. The Falcons fell in Durango, Colo. last weekend to No.22 Fort Lewis (85-67) and South Dakota Mines (78-72) before suffering an exhibition loss this week to New Mexico State (85-58).
 
THE SERIES AGAINST UTPB
LCU is 19-0 all-time against the Falcons. LCU faced UTPB last season in Lubbock (part of the Arbor Hotels Classic) and won 61-37. This is UTPB's second season in the Lone Star Conference, as the two teams ended a Heartland Conference relationship two seasons ago.  UTPB's last Heartland Conference contest was a loss to LCU at the Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla.
 
PREVIOUS RECAP VS. UTPB
Nov. 19, 2016 (Lubbock, Texas) - LCU:61 - UTPB:37
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 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.