ALREADY?
With four regular season games under their belt, and three for the opposition, Lubbock Christian University must prepare for their Lone Star Conference opener, as the Lady Chaparrals open LSC play on the road Saturday in San Angelo, Texas facing Angelo State University at 2 p.m. The Lady Chaps are 4-0 on the season, with a 1-0 mark in true road games. LCU's contest in the Concho Valley kicks off a three-game road trip, as they will follow with a Thanksgiving tournament next week in San Antonio, Texas.
 
SWEEPING HONORS
The Lone Star Conference has recognized Lubbock Christian University's Maddi Chitsey (Offensive) and Juliana Robertson (Defensive) as their Women's Basketball Players of the Week.

Chitsey helped LCU to a 2-0 week, with home victories over Colo. Colorado Springs (UCCS) and No. 20 Southwestern Oklahoma State, leading LCU in scoring on the week with an average of 18 points a game. Against UCCS, Chitsey posted 10 points in the opening half and ended with 16 points in 19 minutes of playing time. She followed with a +18 plus/minus against SWOSU, leading all scorers with 20 points off an 8-of-14 shooting performance. Chitsey was 8-of-10 shooting inside the arc and also was 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The senior from Wall, Texas contributed two blocks and two assists in the win as well.

Robertson played a vital defensive role in LCU's two wins. She had two steals, four assists and seven points in a win over UCCS, and then followed with a career-high 12 rebounds and career-high four blocks against SWOSU. Robertson also had a steal and provided a pair of assists in the SWOSU contest. The junior from Kerrville, Texas also provided an offensive spark, as her lone field goal against SWOSU helped provide LCU's final lead change, as they came back from a five-point deficit against SWOSU for their 67th consecutive home victory. Robertson was part of an LCU defense that held the opposition to a 28.7% shooting percentage, including holding nationally ranked SWOSU to a 28.8% shooting mark.

The honors are the first for either player and are LCU's first LSC weekly accolades in women's basketball (LCU is in their first season competing in the LSC).
 
CONFERENCE OPENERS
This season marks LCU's first season in the Lone Star Conference. Lone Stars Conference play opened Thursday night with a trio of games opening the conference slate. LCU's LSC opener is their 26^th conference opener after six Heartland Conference and 19 Sooner Athletic Conference openers.  The Lady Chaps went 11-8 all-time in SAC openers and 5-1 in HC openers, with a loss at St. Mary's (Dec. 31, 2016) marking their only loss in a Heartland Conference opener. They are 14-2 all-time in conference openers under head coach Steve Gomez. They have won 13 of their prior 14 consecutive conference openers.
 
WHO IS COUNTING?
LCU's 4-0 start marks the fourth season out of the prior five seasons in which LCU has started at least 4-0 on the season. The Lady Chaps opened last season 5-0 and the 2017-18 season 6-0. Their best start and season was their 2015-16 season in which they went 35-0. LCU is one of five unbeaten teams in the LSC and there are 52 unbeaten teams in Division II.
 
HANDLE ON THINGS
LCU leads the Lone Star Conference in assist/turnover ratio with a mark of 1.25, which ranks 32^nd nationally. An interesting statistic, considering LCU's individual leader (Allie Schulte with a 1.00) ranks 18^th individually in the LSC. LCU ranks 41^st nationally with an average of 13.3 turnovers per game (second in the conference) and their mark of 16.5 assists per game is 39^th nationally (third in the LSC).
 
WHEN AT HOME
LCU went 15-0 last season inside Rip Griffin Center. With LCU's win 71-61 win Saturday over No.20 Southwestern Oklahoma State, LCU extended their active home win streak to 67 games, which ranks third all-time in NCAA Division II women's basketball (it actively leads NCAA Div. II). 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. LCU, who also has a 7-0 mark in NCAA postseason play in Lubbock in the mix, has also won 55 consecutive home conference games, with their last conference home loss occurring Jan. 10, 2013 (against Oklahoma City). They completed a 49-0 all-time mark in Heartland Conference home games.
 
NCAA DIVISION II'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS
87 - Neb.-Kearney Jan. 31, 1995-Nov. 24, 2001
85 - West Tex. A&M Jan. 9, 1987-Dec. 6, 1991
67 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Based on the preseason rankings for the 2019-20 season (D2SIDA, WBCA along with Lone Star Conference), the Lady Chaparrals carry the highest expectations in program history to start a season. D2SIDA placed the defending national champions No.1 and the WBCA ranked LCU No.2 despite the Lady Chaps receiving 14 of the 23 first place votes. Each ranking is their highest preseason ranking in program history. The LSC preseason ranked LCU No.1 in their preseason rankings. The first national in-season rankings came out this week and LCU remained No.1 in the WBCA and No.2 in D2SIDA polls.
 
BLOCK PARTIES ARE BACK
LCU ranks 12^th nationally in blocks (22) and 15^th in blocks per game (5.5). Maddi Chitsey leads the team with nine blocks (third in the conference and tied for 22^nd nationally), at a pace of 2.25 per game (third in the conference and 28^th nationally). LCU has ranked in the top-10 nationally in blocks each season since the 2015-16 season, which was their first season eligible to have statistics included among NCAA leaders. They ranked 10^th in total blocks last season (155), second in 2017-18 (202, ranking fourth with a pace of 6.1 per game), fourth in 2016-17 (170, leading the nation with 5.7 per game) and led NCAA Division II in 2015-16 with 235 blocks (6.7 per game).
 
CHARITY WORK
LCU went 28-of-34 (82.4%) from the free-throw line last weekend, which included Madelyn Turner (8-of-8) and Maddi Chitsey (6-of-6) go a combined 14-of-14 from the line. The Lady Chaps are 78.1% from the line this season and lead the LSC in free-throw percentage (ranking 22^nd nationally). In each season LCU has been eligible to have team statistics included among NCAA Division II leaders (2015-15), the Lady Chaps have finished in the top-three in their conference in free-throw shooting. They led the Heartland Conference in 2017-18 with a 76.2% mark from the line, ranking 33^rd nationally. Their highest national ranking is 32^nd (75.0%) from the 2015-16 season. Turner leads LCU and ranks third in the LSC and 41^st nationally with a 92.9% shooting mark from the line. There are 25 qualified players with a 100% shooting mark from the free-throw line in NCAA Division II.
 
GO-GO
LCU head coach Steve Gomez claimed his 400^th win on Friday, Nov.15 in LCU's win over Colo. Colorado Springs (UCCS). Gomez, the winningest coach in LCU women's basketball history, is 401-122 all-time and his 17^th season at the helm of the Lady Chaps, for a win percentage of 76.7%.
 
FIVE THINGS ABOUT ASU
1 > The Belles are coming off a 26-6 campaign in 2018-19, as they were regular season co-champions of the LSC with a 17-3 record. They went 10-2 at home last season and have won seven straight games at home carrying over from last season. The Belles qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament last season, leading to a regional championship game in which they fell to LCU 76-70. ASU has had their season end with losses to LCU the past two seasons and three of the past four seasons.
2 > ASU is preseason picked third in the LSC Preseason Poll. They received one first-place vote.
3 > Angelo State is 2-1 this season after splitting an Arkansas road trip last week. They fell to Harding 89-67, but rebounded with a 92-90 win at Arkansas Tech. Their lone and prior home game this season resulted in a 78-67 win over Texas Wesleyan (Nov. 12). ASU has won their prior three conference openers, with their only conference-opener at home in span resulting in a win to open the 2016-17 conference schedule.
4 > Nate Harris is in his first season at the helm of the Belles. Harris was an assistant coach last season for the Belles following an assistant coaching stint at Montana State.
5 > De'Anira Moore averages 8.0 rebounds per game, leading the LSC and ranking tied for 38^th nationally with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game.

THE SERIES AGAINST ASU
LCU leads the series with a 10-3 all-time mark. LCU defeated ASU 76-70 in last season's South Central Region Tournament (Mar. 19, 2019) in Lubbock, and marked the sixth consecutive win over ASU and the third straight in a NCAA postseason game. The last regular season meeting was on Nov. 24, 2014 in San Angelo. LCU won the game 71-57 (that is the prior meeting in San Angelo) and improved to 4-1 all-time in San Angelo. The two teams have met five times since 2012, but had not met since Nov. 30, 2001 prior to that. The last ASU win in the series was a 62-56 ASU victory on Dec. 29, 2000. The Belles only home win in the series was a 75-59 win on Dec. 1, 1992.
 
ACTIVE LADY CHAP LEADERS VS. ASU
Here is a look at LCU's top three active leaders career vs. ASU:
 
Maddi Chitsey   2GP   21.5 pts/g, 4/7 3pt-FG
Caitlyn Cunyus   2GP   7.0 pts/g, 4/9 3pt-FG
Allie Schulte   2GP   6.0 pts/g, 1/2 3pt-FG    
 
PREVIOUS RECAP VS. ASU
Mar. 19, 2019 (Lubbock, Texas) – LCU:76 - ASU:70
Maddi Chitsey posted a double-double (26 points and 10 rebounds) and Olivia Robertson contributed 22 points, as their 48 combined points helped No.24/25 Lubbock Christian University claim an Elite Eight Tournament berth with a 76-70 victory over No.4-seed Angelo State Tuesday night inside an energetic Rip Griffin Center.

The opening half was game of scoring surges. The Lady Chaps connected on their first four field goal attempts, with three-pointers by Allie Schulte and Caitlyn Cunyus in the mix, leading to a 12-0 run to open the game. Schulte ended up with seven points in the quarter and LCU led 20-9 through the opening 10 minutes of the game.

The Belles overcame the 12-point deficit in the second quarter by outscoring LCU 27-13 in the quarter and closing the half on a 9-0 run to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room. Robertson (8 points) and Chitsey (5 points) were the only Lady Chaps to score in the second quarter, while the Belles received production from six different players in the quarter, including a combined 16 points from Marquita Daniels (9 points) and De'Anira Moore (7 points).

ASU took advantage of an 11-4 foul advantage with a 10-2 scoring advantage from the free-throw line in the first half. Each team had a player in double figures in the first half, as Robertson led LCU with 12 points and Moore produced 10 in the half for ASU.

LCU knocked down four of their first five shot attempts of the third quarter, and a 20-7 run to start the quarter allowed LCU to take a 53-43 lead. Maddi Chitsey had 10 points in the quarter and LCU lead 56-48 with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter before ASU went on a run to close the third quarter.

The Belles cut LCU's lead to 56-54 a minute into the fourth quarter. LCU responded with an 11-0 run, start by a trio of Bobbi Chitsey free-throws and a long distance three-pointer from Maddi Chitsey. ASU was not to be counted out, as with 38 seconds remaining, Dezirae Hampton hit a three-pointer to cut LCU's lead to 73-70. LCU did not have a field goal in the final 2:33 of the game, but free-throws allowed them to hold on. ASU HAD A 6-of-8 shooting sequence going until closing out the game missing their final three shot attempts.

Angelo was led by All-Tournament Team selection Marquita Daniels in the loss. She produced five steals in the game and posted a game-high 27 points. They also received 16 points from Moore and 11 points from Maria Delgado. The Belles have had their season end in Lubbock three of the past four seasons and this season came to an end with a 26-6 record.

LCU was led by Maddi Chitsey, who was two points off a career-high in scoring, and she completed her second double-double of the season. Robertson posted her third consecutive game of at least 20 points with her 22 points (second time this season she has had such a sequence). All of LCU's scoring came from their five starters, as for the first time this season, LCU did not have any scoring from their bench.