ARKANSAS - FORT SMITH (5-3, 1-0) at No.7/8 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (8-1, 0-0)
Saturday, December 2, 2017 - 3 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: 100.7 FM "The Score"
All-Time Series: LCU leads 7-1
 
OPEN IT UP
No. 7/8 Lubbock Christian University continues their four-game homestand hosting Arkansas – Fort Smith for their Heartland Conference opener Saturday at 3 p.m. Saturday conference contests for woman's basketball are typically at 1 p.m. prior to the men's contest, but due to UAFS's scheduling with flights for their men's program, the teams have switched and the men's contest will be played at 1 p.m. prior to the women's tip-off.
 
THURSDAY'S TRIBUNE
No.7/8 Lubbock Christian University fell one block shy of tying the Rip Griffin Center, as they produced 13 block, and Maddi Chitsey led the Lady Chaparrals in scoring for a third straight game, with 17 points in a 79-47 win over University of the Southwest (N.M.) Thursday night inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
Chitsey produced her first double-double of her LCU career in the process, adding 11 rebounds in the game.  She also provided a career high four blocks and was one of seven different Lady Chaps to produce at least a block in the game.  The Rip Griffin Center record for blocks is 14 from a contest against Mid-America Christian on Nov. 24, 2014.
 
LCU produced solid shooting in the opening half, shooting 57.1% (16/28) from the field, going 5-of-8 from long range (62.5%) in the half. The Lady Chaps led 21-7 at the close of the first quarter and followed with a 66.7% (10-of-15) shooting performance in the second quarter to build a 45-20 lead heading into halftime. Chitsey was 5-of-8 from the field in the half and tallied 13 of her 17 points in the half.
 
The second half did not include top shooting performances, as LCU was at a cold 27.8% (5/18) shooting from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range. Despite the shooting woes, they still outscored USW 15-13 in the quarter, due to Tess Bruffey supplying LCU with seven points in the quarter. Both teams bounced back to shoot over 50% in the final quarter, and Allie Schulte led LCU with six points in the final quarter to help LCU outscore the Mustangs 12-4 in paint scoring in the quarter.
 
LCU assisted on 21 of their 29 field goals, with 11 different Lady Chaps collecting at least one assist (Ashton Duncan and Delaney Gaddis co-led LCU with four assists). Along with Chitsey's 17 points, LCU also received a 15-point performance from Kailin Davis, 11 points from Tess Bruffey and 10 points from Madelyn Turner. LCU outscored USW 42-16 in the paint.  The Mustangs, a NAIA program from Hobbs, N.M., counted the game as an exhibition game. USW, meeting LCU for the first time since 2010, was led in scoring by Aaliyah Wheatfall, who had 11 points.
 
OPEN HEART
Heartland Conference play opened Thursday for most teams, but with Dallas Baptist not having a women's basketball program (LCU's men played at DBU Thursday), LCU was not scheduled for a conference contest until Saturday. The opener is LCU's fifth 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 3-1 in HC openers, with last season's 55-47 loss at St. Mary's  (Dec. 31, 2016) marking their only loss in a Heartland Conference opener. They are 12-2 all-time in conference openers under head coach Steve Gomez. They have won 11 of their prior 12 consecutive conference openers.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
New national rankings came out Tuesday afternoon, and the Lady Chaparrals dropped one spot to the No.7 spot in the D2SIDA Top-25 Poll for NCAA Division II women's basketball, while remaining with the No.8 spot in the WBCA's Top-25 Poll. They are the top team in the polls that have suffered a loss. Last weeks poll was the first in-season poll, and their No.6 assigned ranking by D2SIDA has serverved as their highest ranking this season.
 
PERIMETER PLAY
On the offensive side, LCU ranks 11^th nationally with 66 three-pointers made on the season. Tess Bruffey and Caitlyn Cunyus co-lead the team with 15 three-pointers. Their three-point shooting percentage ranks 10^th nationally at 40.5%. LCU has produced at least 10 three-pointers in four of their nine games this season, which is a task they completed once in the opening 12 games of last season. On the defensive side, LCU leads the Heartland Conference holding opponents to a 26.8% shooting percentage from long range.
 
DOWNTOWN
LCU leads the Heartland Conference and ranks seventh nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 48.4% from the field.  They also rank seventh nationally in field goal defense, holding the opposition to 30.8% shooting on the season. Their allowance of 51.7 points per game ranks 11^th in the nation. LCU is the only team in the nation in the top-seven in both field goal shooting and field goal defense.
 
BLOCKING IT OUT
Tess Bruffey, who ranked second nationally last season in blocks per game (3.9), leads the nation with 35 blocks on the season. Her 35 blocks come at a rate of 3.9 per game (second nationally). The Lady Chaps, as a team, lead the nation with 56 blocks after they posted 13 Thursday to miss tying the Rip Griffin Center single game record by one block. Bruffey has four double-doubles on the season as well ranks tied for 14th nationally in the category. In her career, Bruffey has a program and conference record 307 blocks, marking her as the NCAA Div. II's active career leader (third among all levels). She also ranks on the NCAA Div. II's active career leader charts in points (1,357, 12th) and double-doubles (18, 17th).   
 
TIME IS ON THEIR SIDE
LCU opened their 2015-16 championship season completing their first 36 quarters without trailing after a quarter. This season, LCU went 24 quarters without trailing at the conclusion of the quarter. Through nine games this season, LCU has led for 82.7% (297:47 of 360 minutes) of their games and have trailed in 13.4% (48:12) of their contests. In comparison, in 2015-16, LCU led 88% of their season through 10 games, with a total amount of time in the lead at 355:53 of their 405 minutes of play. Their opponents led a total of 25:12 (6%) of the season through 10 games.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT UAFS
• The Lady Lions are in their second season with Elena Lovato at the helm and are coming off a 17-13 season last year, going 10-6 in conference play.
• The Heartland Conference preseason polls selected the Lady Lions to finish second in the conference this season. They opened conference play Thursday with a 72-58 win over Rogers State. They garnered the win with 8-of-9 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter to separate from a 50-48 lead to enter the quarter.
• UAFS enters the weekend ranking 12th nationally in field goal shooting, going 47.3% from the field and ranking second behind LCU in the conference.
• The Lady Lions lead the Heartland Conference in three-point field goals per game with a rate of 7.4 per game. Micayla Haynes averages a conference leading 2.9 three-pointers per contest (40^th nationally) and ranks 20th nationally with a percentage of 51.1% from long range on the season.
• Lundon Williams ranks 41^st nationally in assists with 32. She averages 4.0 per game (third in the conference).
 
THE SERIES AGAINST UAFS
LCU has won all but the previous meeting in the all-time series and has a 7-1 all-time advantage over UAFS.  All meetings have been since joining the Heartland Conference. LCU is 4-0 all-time in Lubbock, with the previous meeting in Lubbock resulting in a 87-47 LCU win (Jan. 5, 2017).
 
PRIOR MEETING VS. UAFS
Feb. 11, 2017 (Fort Smith, Ark.): UAFS 69 - LCU 65
Tess Bruffey posted a career high 27 points, but it came in a losing cause, as Lubbock Christian University fell to Arkansas Fort Smith 69-65 inside Stubblefield Center in Heartland Conference action. The loss was LCU's first ever loss to UAFS and the game was LCU's final regular season road game.
 
LCU had a promising start, opening the game on an 8-0 run, with Olivia Robertson and Bailey Haist connecting from long range during the run. UAFS responded with a 9-0 run and scored 21 of the game's next 25 points. LCU missed their final four shot attempts in the first quarter and committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions, as they found themselves trailing 19-12 at the end of the quarter. The runs continued for UAFS in the second quarter, and a 12-2 run provided the Lady Lions with a 33-16 lead with 6:04 left in the quarter. The Lady Lions eventually built the lead to 41-22 before LCU closed the half on a 7-0 run and UAFS led 41-29 at the break.
 
UAFS shot 60% (9/15) in the second quarter, with a 4-of-7 shooting mark from long range. Olivia Hanson led UAFS with 12 points in the first half, with a 4-of-6 shooting performance from three-point range. The Lady Lions produced 14 more shot attempts than LCU, taking advantage of seven offensive rebounds and 10 LCU turnovers. Bruffey led LCU with 12 points, but she had no offensive assistance, as the rest of the Lady Chaps squad was a combined 4-of-14 from the field (28.6%) in the half.
 
Sydney Franklin hit a three-pointer for UAFS 1:42 into the second half to give UAFS a 45-31 lead before LCU responded with a 10-2 run spearheaded by Olivia Robertson and Delaney Gaddis, who each had five points in the third quarter. LCU was held to one field goal over the final three minutes of the quarter. UAFS led 56-46 after three quarters and led 60-49 when the scoreboard was locked for four minutes without any scoring. Hannah Harbin ended the game's dry spell with a Lady Chaps field goal with 4:31 remaining. LCU was able to cut the deficit to a possession difference, but UAFS had an answer and mostly from the free-throw line, where they closed the game 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final minutes after missing five of seven free-throw attempts to start the quarter.
 
LCU lost their sixth game in which they out-shot their opponent. The Lady Chaps were 46.2% (24/52) from the field, while UAFS was 37.3% (25/67) from the field. LCU was 61% inside the arc (19-of-31), but 23.8% (5-of-21) outside the arc. LCU was plagued by 18 turnovers and 20 UAFS offensive rebounds.
 
Bruffey finished 11-of-17 from the field for her career high 27 points, which included 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. She also produced six blocks and matched a career high with a trio of three-pointers. Robertson joined Bruffey in double figures with 14 points.
 
UAFS was 9-of-20 (45%) from three-point range in the game, and Hanson had four of the treys to finish with a team-leading 14 points. Tayla Taylor (13 points) and Zhanesha Dickerson (12 points) joined Hanson in double figures.