SAN ANTONIO, Texas (November 25, 2017) – Maddi Chitsey, coming off a career high 21-point performance Friday against No.1 Ashland, led No.6/8 Lubbock Christian University with 17 points and teammate Tess Bruffey produced a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the Lady Chaparrals improve to 7-1 with a 65-57 win over Midwestern State University Saturday night at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic inside  Bill Greehey Arena.
 
The final score was not indicative to the statistics of the game, as LCU had a 51% (25/49) shooting percentage from the field and held MSU to 18% (21/75) shooting from the floor. LCU never trailed in the contest and held a lead of at least 14 points for 14 minutes. Credit the Mustangs, who out-rebounded LCU 48-37 with 26 offensive rebounds and finished the game on a 16-4 run, holding the Lady Chaps without a field goal over the final 6:20 of the game.
 
The Lady Chaps opened the game with a balanced effort. On the defensive end, LCU held MSU to three field goals on their opening 28 shot attempts (10.7%). Of MSU's first five field goals (spanning nearly the opening 18 minutes of play), only one was a traditional two-point field goal, as MSU had a pair of three-pointers and a pair of "old-fashioned" three-point plays.  On LCU's offensive end, Tess Bruffey was off to a slow start (one field goal on her first seven attempts), but her teammates were a combined 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the field. The Lady Chaps used a pair of 6-0 runs and a 10-0 run, sparked by a Maddi Chitsey three-pointer, to lead 24-10 with 3:31 remaining in the second quarter. Surged by a 58.3% (7/12) shooting mark from the field in the second quarter, LCU took a 32-20 lead at the half.
 
Hannah Reynolds produced a layup 44-seconds into the fourth quarter to cut LCU's lead to 32-24, but LCU responded with an 11-2 run capped by five straight points from Caitlyn Cunyus. Leading 55-39 heading into the fourth quarter, LCU built their lead to its largest (61-41) before the closing 16-4 Mustangs run. LCU's final 6:20 was not filled with missed shots (they were 4-of-8 from the field in the quarter), but plagued with eight turnovers in the stretch.
 
Chitsey, coming off her first game in which she led LCU in scoring in her career, led LCU with 17 points and was 7-of-10 from the field. Three Lady Chaps joined her in double figures, with Cunyus (12 points) and Olivia Robertson (11 points) joining Bruffey and Chitsey. Bruffey's double-double was her fourth of the season and the 18^th of her career.
 
Midwestern State was led by Liz Cathcart, whose 10 points placed her as the only Mustang in double figures. The Mustangs had an 18-7 scoring advantage in second chance scoring and 17-3 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
 
The win over MSU was LCU's seventh all-time of the 29 meetings in the series dating back to 1982. LCU has defeated MSU in consecutive all-time meetings for second time ever and the first since they defeated MSU in 1989 and 1990.
 
TURNING POINT
The two teams combined for 43 points in the third quarter (they combined for 19 in the opening quarter), and key for LCU was maintaining their offense as MSU was finally getting their shots to fall. Not one Lady Chaps member missed more than two shots in the quarter and Bruffey (2-of 4, 7 points), Robertson (3-of-4, 6 points), Chitsey (2-of-3, 6 points) and Cunyus (2-of-2, 5 points) combined for the 24 points on 9-of-13 (69.2%) shooting.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU was out-rebounded for the first time this season (48-37). Ironically, the last time LCU allowed at least 48 rebounds was on Dec. 31, 2016 inside Bill Greehey Arena, allowing 52 to St. Mary's. Saturday, MSU had a 75-48 advantage in field goal attempts and the 27-attempt advantage by MSU was the most the Lady Chaps had suffered since StMU had a 74-47 advantage in the Dec. 31, 2016 contest last season. MSU had 26 offensive rebounds, marking the most allowed by LCU since Arkansas – Fort Smith compiled 26 on Feb.12, 2015.
 
UP NEXT
LCU (7-1) returns home and plays a Heartland Conference tune-up Thursday at home facing Southwest (N.M.) at 6 p.m. before their Heartland opener Saturday against Arkansas – Fort Smith.