No.4 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (11-1) at EASTERN NEW MEXICO (5-5)
Saturday, December 30, 2017 - 3 p.m. (Central)
Greyhound Arena (Portales, N.M.)
Radio: Online Only
All-Time Series: ENMU leads 24-12
THE LAST OF '17
No.4 Lubbock Christian University closes out a 13-day Christmas Break and plays their final game of the 2017 calendar year Saturday on the road in Portales, N.M. facing Eastern New Mexico for a nonconference tilt inside Greyhound Arena. The game serves as LCU's second true road game of the season (LCU's Nov. 13 win at Texas A&M Commerce was their only true road game of their 12 games played) and it is their final non conference game of the season, as LCU resumes Heartland Conference play Thursday (Jan. 4) hosting Texas A&M International. LCU is 10-1 in nonconference play this season.
LOOKING BACK TO THEIR LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University's
Tess Bruffey came close to a triple-double, leading a quintuplet of Lady Chaparrals in double figures, with 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks, and the performance was able to outshine Cameron's double-double from Jamie Bonnarens (20 points and 14 rebounds) to lead No.4 LCU to a 67-54 win inside Rip Griffin Center. The Dec. 16 matchup was the first meeting between the two squads in 17 years.
Both teams opened the game cold from the field. After the game opened the first 2:25 scoreless, the two teams combined to go 3-for-16 from the field (18.8%) in the opening 5:13, as LCU was 2-of-7 (28.6%) and Cameron was 1-of-9 (11.1%) in the span. Despite the lack of offense, LCU was able to use three-pointers from
Olivia Robertson and
Bobbi Chitsey to take a 12-9 lead into the second quarter. LCU's offense did not struggle the rest of the game, and they opened the second quarter going 4-of-4 from the field (part of a 7-of-9 shooting stretch, which began with three minutes remaining in the first quarter).
Caitlyn Cunyus' layup one minute into the second quarter provided LCU their largest lead of the half at 16-9. Cameron was able to bounce back with an 8-0 run and they took a 22-20 lead in the game with four minutes left in the half. Robertson sparked a 5-0 run with a three-pointer and LCU regained the lead and led 27-25 heading into the half.
Cameron had a 6-0 scoring advantage in second chance scoring in the half after seven offensive rebounds. LCU was 53.8% (7/13) from the field in the second quarter, but was outscored 16-15 in the quarter by the Aggies. All seven of the game's lead changes took place in the opening half.
Bruffey opened the second half with a three-pointer 24 seconds into the half and it ignited a 10-4 run capped by Bruffey's second three of the half with 5:57 left in the half to give LCU a 37-29 lead. A 7-2 run followed, fueled by a pair of baskets by
Bobbi Chitsey, and LCU's lead was extended to 44-31 with 2:42 remaining in the quarter. Bruffey, Cunyus and Chitsey each had six points in the quarter and combined for all eight field goals on the team's 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting mark in the quarter.
The Lady Chaps maintained their lead much of the fourth quarter. They had a 57-43 lead cut to 57-48 on a 5-0 Cameron run, but LCU offset it with a 5-0 run to take a 62-48 lead with 2:43 left. Robertson led LCU in the quarter with six points.
Cameron produced 15 offensive rebounds in the contest, leading to a 14-2 advantage in second chance points. They also had a 13-9 scoring advantage in points off turnovers. The 15 offensive rebounds led to a 39-35 rebound advantage over LCU, who was out-rebounded for a second time this season (LCU is 2-0 when being out-rebounded).
LCU was 50.9% (27/53) from the field, shooting 56.4% (22/39) after the first quarter. They were 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field in the fourth quarter. Bruffey was two blocks away from her second career triple-double and she had eight of LCU's nine blocks. Joining her in double figures in points was Cunyus (13 points), Robertson (12 points),
Maddi Chitsey (11 points) and
Bobbi Chitsey (11 points). Bonnarens led the Aggies with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate Parfitt McNair also provided 10 points for Cameron.
The meeting was the first since Dec. 5, 2000, and the win by LCU was their second all-time win over the Aggies (tenth all-time meeting). LCU's prior win in the all-time series was Jan. 10, 1994 in Lubbock.
LEAVING THE REPUBLIC
LCU's tip in Portales, N.M. will mark LCU's first game of the season outside the Lone Star State. Last season, LCU played in five different states and in Puerto Rico amidst their opening 10 games of the season. Opening this season with 12 consecutive games played in Texas is a first in program history.
CALENDAR CHECK
Saturday's contest at ENMU will mark LCU's final game of the 2017 calendar year. LCU is 25-5 in games played in 2017, for an 83.3% win percentage. LCU went 29-10 (74.4%) in 2016 and 24-4 in 2015 (85.7%).
NATIONALLY KNOWN
New national rankings came out Tuesday afternoon, and the Lady Chaparrals remained at No.4 in both the D2SIDA's Top-25 Poll and the WBCA's Top-25 Poll (Coaches Poll) for NCAA Division II women's basketball. They are the top team in the polls of teams that have suffered a loss. The No.4 ranking matches their best ranking received this season.
HELPING HAND
Despite not having one individual in the top-100 nationally in any assist categories, LCU leads the Heartland Conference in all categories and in the top-50 nationally in two of the three team categories. LCU ranks 27th nationally in assists (195), 42nd in assists per game (16.3) and 70th in assist/turnover ratio (.97). LCU's
Caitlyn Cunyus and
Delaney Gaddis co-lead the team with 37 assists. Gaddis has 13 assists in the prior two games combined. Both are in the top-10 in the conference in assists but neither break the top-150 nationally in individual assist categories.
PERIMETER PLAY
On the offensive side, LCU ranks 25th nationally with 94 three-pointers made on the season.
Tess Bruffey leads the team with 23 three-pointers, with
Caitlyn Cunyus right behind her with 22. LCU's three-point shooting percentage ranks fourth nationally at 41.6%. LCU has produced at least 10 three-pointers in five of their 12 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.
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES
LCU leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 48.5% from the field. They also lead the nation in field goal defense, holding the opposition to 31.9% shooting on the season. Their allowance of 53.8 points per game ranks 12th in the nation.
BLOCKING IT OUT
Tess Bruffey, who ranked second nationally last season in blocks per game (3.9), leads the nation with 56 blocks on the season. Her 56 blocks come at a rate of 4.7 per game (leads nationally) and she has more blocks than all but 14 NCAA Div. II teams. The Lady Chaps, as a team, leads the nation with 88 blocks. Bruffey has six double-doubles on the season as well ranks tied for 13th nationally in the category. In her career, Bruffey has a program and conference record 328 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 (1,410, 13th) and double-doubles (20, 15th).
WHAT IS ON THE LINE?
LCU became the 17th team in NCAA Division II Women's Basketball to win 40 consecutive home games with their win over SWOSU (it actively leads NCAA Div. II). If LCU extends the streak to 42 (currently at 41), they will match Arkansas Tech for 16th place on the all-time list for consecutive home wins in NCAA Division II history. The record is 87 consecutive home victories by Nebraska-Kearney, who completed the task from Jan. 31, 1995 - Nov. 24, 2001. LCU's last home loss came on Jan. 1, 2015 against Oklahoma City University.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ENMU
• The Greyhounds (they were formerly known as Zias) are 5-5 on the season and 4-2 in nonconference play this season.
• The Lone Star Conference (LSC) preseason picked ENMU to finish second in the conference. They went 16-4 in conference play last season, to claim a share of the regular season title, and are off to a 1-3 conference start. They are 2-2 against common opponents (already played) and are 2-0 against Heartland Conference squads this season (defeated Texas A&M International and St. Mary's).
• The 'Hounds perimeter defense ranks 38th nationally, holding opponents to a 26.5% shooting mark from three-point range.
• Mikaehla Connor is ENMU's lone player averaging double figures, as she averages 10.5 points per game.
• Through 10 games, ENMU, who outscored St. Mary's 33-19 in the second half of a 52-45 win in their prior game, is even in points for and against. They have allowed and surrendered 597 points this season.
THE SERIES AGAINST ENMU
The 'Hounds own a 24-12 all-time advantage against the Lady Chaps, but LCU has won the prior four meetings and nine of the last 11. LCU is 5-2 all-time against ENMU under head coach
Steve Gomez. The teams have not met since an 89-55 LCU win in Lubbock on Nov. 20, 2015. The last meeting in Portales resulted in an 84-52 LCU win on Jan. 6, 2014. ENMU is 8-2 against LCU in all-time meetings scheduled in December. Ironically, LCU's last December win over ENMU was on Dec. 30, 2002 (69-65).
PRIOR MEETING VS. ENMU
Nov. 20, 2014 (Lubbock, Texas): LCU 89 - ENMU 52
Tess Bruffey recorded 17 points in the first half and was one of 13 Lady Chaparrals to figure into the offense, as Lubbock Christian University cruised to an 89-55 win over Eastern New Mexico in their 2015-16 home opener inside Rip Griffin Center.
Both teams exercised their roster, as the teams combined to use 27 different players. LCU used all 14 players on their roster and they received points from all but one. No Lady Chap played less than eight minutes and no player played more than 20 minutes.
LCU had the game out of reach early, opening the game on a 9-0 run and leading as much as 15 points in the opening quarter. Bruffey and Hoppel accounted for 18 of the team's 27 points in the first quarter. They each had nine points in the quarter, with Hoppel's all coming beyond the arc. She opened the game 4-of-4 from downtown and finished with 12 points (all in the opening half).
The Lady Chaps led 27-15 after the first quarter and outscored the Greyhounds 22-8 in the second quarter for a 49-23 halftime lead. LCU was 62.1% from the field (18/29) in the half and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from three-point range.
Kassandra Harris tried to get ENMU rallied back, scoring 13 of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter. LCU was able to match her production with six points from Kellyn Schneider and five from
Bobbi Chitsey in the quarter. The Lady Chaps led 72-44 after three quarters.
Chitsey finished with a career-high 13 points, going 4-for-4 from the field in her first home game inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU completed the game assisting on 25 of their 30 field goals, with 12 different players credited with at least one assist. Haley Fowler led all players with five assists.
Bruffey was 7-of-10 from the field (including 2-of-3 from long range) with a team high 19 points in 19 minutes of play. She was one of four Lady Chaps in double figures in points. Schneider joined Bruffey, Hoppel and Chitsey by finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in 17 minutes of play.
The Lady Chaps ere 56.6% (30/53) from the field and held ENMU (1-2) to 28.6% (20/70) shooting. From three-point range, LCU was 10-of-16 (62.5%), with six different players connecting from long distance.
