LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (15-4, 5-0 Heartland)
at OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN (10-8, 3-2 Heartland)
Saturday, January 26 - 1:00 PM
The Eagles' Nest (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Radio: Online Only
All-Time Series: OC leads 29-26
ALL-CAPS
Lubbock Christian University opened their week's play Thursday night with a 66-57 win at St. Edward's and make the voyage from Austin, Texas to Oklahoma City, Okla. to face Oklahoma Christian University at 1 p.m. Saturday. The match-up pits the hottest teams in the Heartland Conference, as LCU, winners of 23 straight conference games and the conference's only unbeaten team (5-0) in conference play, faces a Lady Eagles squad that has won their last three games. LCU takes an overall eight-game win streak into the game.
THURSDAY TRIBUNE
Maddi Chitsey (20 points) and
Olivia Robertson (19 points) combined for 39 points and Lubbock Christian University shot 68.9% inside the arc to improve to 5-0 in Heartland Conference play with a 66-57 win over St. Edward's University Thursday night inside Recreation and Convocation Center.
The Lady Chaps were 24-of-35 inside the arc (68.6%) during the contest. They started off 11-of-14 (78.6%) inside the arc in the first half.
Despite the hot inside shooting, LCU found themselves trailing 32-30 at the half. SEU made their first 10 field goal attempts in side the arc.
Maddi Chitsey had 10 points in the first quarter, but a 6-0 run in the quarter allowed SEU to take an 18-11 lead en route to a 20-16 advantage at the close of the first quarter. The Lady Chaps went on a 13-1 run and took a 27-21 lead in the second quarter. The Hilltoppers took advantage of nine LCU turnovers and eight offensive rebounds in the first half. They had nine more field goal attempts than LCU and the advantage helped close the first half on a 7-0 run over the final 3:36 of the second quarter to take a 32-30 lead.
SEU had a 17-2 scoring advantage in the first half in points-off-turnovers (9-0 in the second quarter). While Chitsey had 12 points in the first half, SEU's Isabel Hernandez led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half.
The Lady Chaps had a busted play in the opening series of the second half, but a loose ball ended up in the hands of
Bobbi Chitsey, who drained a three-pointer to give LCU a 33-32 lead. The teams went back-and-fourth offensively the next few series before LCU went on a 7-0 run, with five of the points scored by
Olivia Robertson, which built LCU's lead to 46-39. LCU led 52-45 at the end of the third quarter.
A run to close the third quarter rolled into the fourth quarter, leading to a 16-4 LCU run to help build their lead to 64-49. The lead, with 4:22 remaining, was enough to hold off any Hilltoppers rally the rest of the way.
LCU finished with four players in double figures in points.
Allie Schulte (11 points) and
Bobbi Chitsey (10 points) joined Robertson and
Maddi Chitsey in double figures for LCU.
The Lady Chaps shot over 50% despite poor outside shooting. LCU shot 52.8% (28/53) from the field, shooting 22.2% (4/18) from long range. SEU struggled as well from outside, shooting 15.8% (3/19) from three-point range. Overall, they were 41.1% (23/56) from the field.
SEU, falling to 9-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play, was led by Hernandez, who finished with 20 points. Maryam Wilcher (12 points) and Lexi Cunningham (11 points) also provided into the Hilltoppers scoring. SEU out-rebounded LCU 33-26, marking just the second time in the past 16 games in which LCU has been out-rebounded.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian is holding opponents to 46.8 points per game in conference and 54.6 per game overall this season, which ranks 13
th nationally. The defensive efforts has led to LCU averaging a margin of victory of 16.8 points per game, which ranks 17
th nationally. The Lady Chaps have a 30.6 scoring margin advantage per game in conference play.
NO FOUL PLAY
The Lady Chaps rank 13th in the nation in fouls per game, with a conference-leading average of 14.3 fouls per game. Fouls have led LCU to outscoring their opponents 12.5 – 9.7 in points a game from the free-throw line. The Lady Chaps have shot over 80% from the free-throw line in eight games this season and rank 25
th nationally with a mark of 75.2% on the season (second in the Heartland Conference).
Olivia Robertson leads the team (of qualified attempts), shooting 85.3% (64/75) from the line to rank second in the conference.
FROM THE FIELD
Lubbock Christian continues to rank in the top-20 nationally in shooting, ranking 10th nationally with a 47.5% field goal shooting percentage. LCU has shot at least 41.9% in all but three games this season and have hit the .500 plateau on six occasions, including their last three games. They are shooting 47.4% this season in road contests, shooting at least 48% in their last three road games.
SISTER CHRISTIAN
On Nov.10, the Lady Chaps game against CSU-Pueblo marked the first time in LCU program history in which a pair of sisters tallied double figures, as LCU received double-digit point production from
Olivia Robertson,
Juliana Robertson,
Bobbi Chitsey and
Maddi Chitsey. LCU has three sisters on the squad, and Dec. 8 marked the first game this season in which all three sets of sisters played in the same game. Dec. 10 at Texas A&M International, marked the first time all six sisters contributed at least a point in the same contest. Last Thursday (Jan. 17) against Rogers State, all six scored at least one point, marking the first time the occurrence occurred at home.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
LCU has five players with at least an average of 1.8 assists per game, with three averaging at least 2.0 assists per game.
Allie Schulte leads the team with 61 assists (3.2 per game), with
Caitlyn Cunyus (2.6) and
Olivia Robertson (44, 2.3) also playing a role in the ball distribution averaging at least 2.0 assists per game.
Bobbi Chitsey (1.9) and
Maddi Chitsey (1.8) are just under 2.0 assists per game. LCU averages 15.6 assists (third in the Heartland Conference) on 25.5 field goals per game. LCU has 297 assists (leads the conference), ranking 16th nationally in the category.
ROAD JOURNAL
The Lady Chaps are 4-3 in true road games this season, winning their prior four road tests.
Olivia Robertson leads LCU in away contests with average of 19.0 points per game. LCU had been plagued by turnovers on the road. Prior to their Dec. 17 victory at Western Washington, LCU had committed 71 turnovers (23.7 per game) and had been outscored 91-26 in points-off-turnovers on the road. (an average of 30.3 - 8.7 per road game). Since then, in their last four road games, they have a forced their opponents into 76 turnovers (19.0 per game) and have limited themselves to 44 turnovers (11.1 per game), which has them outscoring opponents 81-45 in points-off-turnovers in the span (average advantage of 20.3 - 11.3 per game). Combining all road games this season, LCU has committed 115 turnovers (16.4 per game) and have been outscored 136-104 in points-off-turnovers (an average of 19.4 - 14.9 per road game).
WHAT ABOUT BOBBI
Bobbi Chitsey has been in a scoring rhythm for the Lady Chaps. Chitsey, who averaged 5.3 points per game over a six-game stretch prior to Dec. 8, is averaging 13.1 points per game in the past nine games (beginning Dec. 8) and has posted double figures in each of the past seven games. Her offensive numbers have helped her bump her average scoring to 10.1 points per game, placing her as one of four Lady Chaps currently averaging double figures.
HAVING HEART
LCU, winners of 23 straight conference games, is the only 5-0 team in the Heartland Conference this season. The Lady Chaps 5-0 start in conference has been led by
Bobbi Chitsey, who has an average of 11.4 points per conference game.
Olivia Robertson (11.2) and
Maddi Chitsey (10.6) join
Bobbi Chitsey in double figures in points. LCU has a 78-55 advantage in turnovers in conference contests, leading to a 100-65 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers. They are also benefiting off an average advantage of 12.0 – 4.0 second-chance-points per conference game and their bench averaging 31.6 points per conference game. The Lady Chaps are shooting 51.4% from the field in conference and shooting 40.2% from three-point range, with a 45-18 advantage in three-pointers. Opponents are 34.5% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. LCU's defense has a 52-17 advantage in steals in conference games, with
Allie Schulte leading the team with 14 (2.8 per game).
BOARD GAMES
The Lady Chaps rank seventh in the Heartland Conference in rebounds per game (33.2, which ranks 281
st of 301 Division II programs), but they lead the Heartland Conference in rebounding margin with a mark of 5.4 (51
st nationally).
Olivia Robertson leads LCU with 116 rebounds (6.1 per game). LCU has only been out-rebounded twice over the prior 16 games and they have a +43 rebounding margin through five conference games (+8.6 per conference game).
DOWNTOWN
The Lady Chaps rank 19th nationally with 152 three-pointers on the season and is third with a shooting mark of 40.0% from long range.
Allie Schulte is in the top-10 nationally, hitting three-pointers at a pace of 50.0% on the season (32/64), with 32 three-pointers ranking fifth in the conference.
Bobbi Chitsey is 10-of-17 (.588) and
Madelyn Turner is 5-of-9 (.556) from three-point range in conference play, with
Ashton Duncan and
Bobbi Chitsey co-leading the team with 10 three-pointers in conference (2.0 per game).
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OC
- The Lady Eagles enter the week 10-8 overall and 3-2 in Heartland Conference play. They defeated Newman 85-81 Thursday in Wichita, Kan. to garner a three-game win streak, which is their longest of the season. They are aiming to extend it to a four-game win streak, which would be their longest since the 2016-17 season.
- OC finished the 2017-18 season with a 10-18 record. They went 5-9 in conference and Their season came to a close with a Semifinal loss to LCU at the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla..
- Addy Clift is the reigning USBWA NCAA Division II National Player of the Week. She posted 26 points in last Thursday's 105-50 win over Texas A&M International, moving past Nia Torru of Incarnate Word (Texas) as the Heartland's all-time leading scorer. Clift followed with a 45-point performance in a 104-53 victory over St. Mary's (Texas), breaking her month-old school and conference single-game scoring record. On the week, Clift shot 55.6 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent (8 of 13) from three-point range and 95.8 percent (23 of 24) at the free-throw line. She finished the week with 1,838 career points, fifth among active Division II players. Clift also moved into the season scoring lead in NCAA Division II, and increased her average Thursday to 28.3 points per game after posting 37 points against Newman.
- The Lady Eagles posted consecutive 100-point games last week, marking the fourth time in the program's 42-season history and for the first time since November 1995, when they opened the season by beating Paul Quinn 102-60 and Southwestern Adventist 122-29. OC never before had posted consecutive 100-point games against conference opponents. The streak ended Thursday at Newman, as they came 15 points shy of 100.
- OC's offense enters the week averaging 82.1 points per game, which ranks seventh nationally. They rank third nationally in free-throws made, averaging 18.4 per game. They averaged 22.0 points from the line the previous six games.
SERIES HISTORY WITH OC
OC leads the all-time series 29-26 dating back to 1979. Despite trailing the all-time series, LCU has won 22 of the last 25 meetings. The Lady Chaps have won the prior 15 meetings, with OC's last win coming on Feb. 17, 2011. LCU swept the regular season series last season, then followed with an 80-61 victory over OC at the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla. Both teams are former Sooner Athletic Conference foes.
PREVIOUS MEETING VS. OC
Mar. 3, 2018 (Tulsa, Okla.): LCU 80 - OC 61
The No.2 and top-seeded Lady Chaparrals held Oklahoma Christian without a field goal for a span of 10:26 in the opening half en route to an 80-61 victory in the semifinals of the tournament at UMAC.
In a game LCU never trailed, the Lady Chaps relied on their Heartland Conference Player of the Year to get them going, as
Tess Bruffey scored nine points in the first quarter and helped LCU to a 24-16 lead. Fourteen combined personal fouls in the opening quarter interrupted the pace of place, but the whistles went silent in the second quarter (five fouls in the second quarter). LCU's defense did not allow a field goal in the final 54 seconds of the first quarter until 28 seconds remained in the second quarter. OC missed 16 consecutive field goal attempts in the 10:26 span. Clift ended the drought with their final shot of the half. OC was 1-of-16 in the second quarter and scored six points.
LCU's offense didn't take full advantage of OC's offensive struggles, as LCU produced one field goal over the final 5:03 of the second quarter.
Maddi Chitsey posted seven points in the quarter and LCU led 38-22 at the half.
The Lady Chaps missed their first four shots in the second half and OC opened the half on an 6-0 run to cut the LCU lead to 38-28. Chitsey ended the run with a three-pointer for LCU and it sparked a 10-0 LCU run. LCU kept their distance the rest of the way, never letting their lead slip under a 15-point margin.
After shooting 18.8% (6/32) in the first half, OC shot 50% (16/32) in the second half, but LCU matched the production with the same 16-of-32 shooting mark from the field in the half. OC struggled from long range though, shooting 9.5% (2-of-21) from long distance.
Bruffey led LCU with 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks (also had three assists and two steals). She was joined offensively by
Olivia Robertson (14 points) and
Maddi Chitsey (13 points).
Bobbi Chitsey matched a career high with eight rebounds and season high with three assists.
OC, shooting 34.4% (22/64) from the field, was led by Clift and her 25 points. She was 9-of-21 from the field. Audrey Hayes also added 10 points for the Lady Eagles.
