SAN ANTONIO, Texas (January 12, 2019) – Ashton Duncan knocked down five three-pointers and Lubbock Christian University converted on 14 three-point attempts, the most in a road game under 16^th-year head coach Steve Gomez, as they cruised to a 75-42 Heartland Conference victory over No.21/22 St. Mary's University Saturday afternoon inside Bill Greehey Arena. The win improved LCU's Heartland Conference win streak to 20 games and ended StMU's seven-game home win streak.
 
The Lady Chaps offense had no problems against the Rattlers defense, which entered the game leading the Heartland Conference holding opponents to a 36.5% shooting mark on the season. LCU was 27-of-56 (48.2%) from the field and went 14-of-27 (52.9%) from three-point range, marking the third time this season over half of the team's field goals were made beyond the arc and the fourth time this season they have made over 50% of their three-point attempts (in games of at least 10 attempts).
 
Duncan, who topped Thursday's career-high with a game-high 17 points, became the first Lady Chaps member to hit five three-pointers in a game this season and it is the most since Tess Bruffey made six three-pointers against Southwestern Oklahoma State (Dec. 7, 2017). She was 6-of-10 from the field Saturday, going 5-of-9 from long range. the highest single-game total of three-pointers made since Bailey Haist nailed eight three-pointers on Jan. 2, 2017 at Texas A&M International.
 
The Lady Chaps opened the contest 4-of-4 from long distance and all four were from different players. LCU made six of their first nine shot attempts, and Olivia Robertson and Allie Schulte each had five points of a 14-2 run (an 11-0 run was included in the mix) in the opening quarter. Schulte, who matched a career high Thursday with five steals, also had three steals in a span of 3:20 to aid the run, which put LCU up 19-6 with 4:04 left in the quarter. LCU went scoreless for nearly three-minutes, but closed the final 1:08 of the quarter 3-of-3 from the field to take a 25-12 lead to end the quarter. Lubbock Christian was 9-of-14 (64.3%) in the quarter.
 
Duncan took over in the second quarter, starting the quarter off with a three-pointer 11 seconds into the quarter. It was the first of three in the opening 2:24 of the quarter, leading to the Rattlers calling an early timeout with LCU leading 34-14. She made four three-pointers in the quarter, and her fourth served as a prelude to a three-pointer from Bobbi Chitsey with 3:12 left in the half for a 42-21 LCU lead. LCU made six field goals in the quarter and four were three-pointers from Duncan, who had 12 points in the quarter to give LCU a 44-25 halftime lead.
 
LCU's defense held StMU to 30.8% shooting in the third quarter and benefited off an 8-0 run to help extend their lead. Chitsey tallied six points in the quarter and had one of three LCU three-pointers to help LCU take a 63-33 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Chaps went with their depth in the final quarter, ushering out 12 different players onto the floor. Nine of their 12 points in the quarter came from the bench, with Laynee Burr leading the bench in the quarter with three points. Seven different Lady Chaps took a shot attempt in the quarter and none missed more than one attempt.
 
The Lady Chaps 14 three-pointers was the second highest total in a game this season, behind a mark of 16 against Texas-Permian Basin inside Rip Griffin Center (Nov. 17). Seven different Lady Chaps hit from long distance, with Chitsey (3) and Caitlyn Cunyus (2) joining Duncan with more than one in the game. Olivia Robertson, missing a double-double with nine rebounds, finished with 16 points and Chitsey also chipped in 12 points to help LCU's offensive cause.
 
St. Mary's, who ended a three-game win streak, suffered their first home loss of the season (4-1) and it was behind a 32.1% (17/53) shooting performance. They were 2-of-7 (28.6%) from three-point range, which was their lowest three-point production of the season. The Rattlers were without a player in double figures in points, as they fell to 11-4 on the season and dropped to 1-1 in conference.
 
LCU won their third straight road game and claimed their fifth straight win to improve to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the Heartland Conference. Turnovers favored LCU again on the road, as their 14-10 advantage in the category led to LCU out-scoring StMU 17-7 in points-off-turnovers.
 
TURNING POINT
LCU's three-point shooting helped them surge past the Rattlers in the first half. The Lady Chaps, opening the game 4-of-4 and 7-of-11 from the perimeter, were 9-of-16 (56.3%) in the first half from three-point range, while StMU was 1-of-5 (20%) in the half. In the second quarter, Ashton Duncan was 4-of-7 from the field, while the rest of her teammates were a combined 2-of-9. She had 12 points from beyond the arc in the quarter, while the Rattlers were without a three-point field goal in the span.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Bobbi Chitsey recorded a plus/minus of +33 Saturday. The mark is the highest plus/minus mark by a Lady Chaps member this season, topping a +32 by Kailin Davis on Nov. 17 against Texas – Permian Basin.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU returns home Thursday to host Rogers State for their first Heartland Conference home game of the season. The game is part of the NCAA Division II Hoops Showcase series and the game will air on ESPN3. Tip-off was changed to 5:30 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center.