STARKVILLE, Miss. (November 4, 2019) – NCAA Division II No.1 Lubbock Christian University led Division I No.8 Mississippi State for a length of 11:32 in the first half and trailed 43-41 at the half, but shooting woes in the second half prevented any upset inside Humphrey Coliseum, as the Bulldogs defeated LCU 78-57 in an exhibition contest.
 
The contest had the makings of a filming of Gulliver's Travels, with LCU serving as Lilliputians. MSU utilized their four players standing 6-2 and taller, dominating with 23 offensive rebounds, leading to an 11-2 advantage in second-chance scoring. They also had a 10-1 advantage in blocks against a Lady Chaps squad which has Maddi Chitsey serving as LCU's tallest player at 6-2.
 
It was Chitsey who was not only keeping LCU in the game early, but had them leading the defending SEC champions. Chitsey exploded for 16 points in the first quarter, including a 35-foot three-pointer at the horn to give LCU a 25-22 lead at the close of the first quarter. LCU was 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the field in the first quarter, including 8-of-12 (67%) inside the arc.
 
They led 37-33 when things began to slip away for the Lady Chaps, as 5:07 remained in the second quarter. They were 2-of-12 from the field in the remainder of the half, going the final 2:08 without a field goal. They trailed 43-41 at the half.
 
LCU had fluent looks to open the third quarter, but they were unable to get a shot to fall. Allie Schulte hit a pair of three-pointers in the quarter, but not before going the opening 1:57 without a field goal to close a 4:05 span without a bucket (carrying over from the first half). LCU would end up going another scoreless sequence, going a span of 10:40 without field goals.
 
The Lady Chaps were 23.1% (6-of-26) from the field in the second half and also produced 15 turnovers in the second half (they had seven in the first half). LCU was causing havoc defensively in the second half, holding MSU to a 30.2% (13-of-43) shooting mark in the half.  The Bulldogs shot 18.2% (4-of-22) from the field in the fourth quarter.
 
MSU's Jessika Carter, a 6-5 center, benefited with her size. She had 13 points and eight rebounds in the second half, finishing the game with a double-double consisting of 27 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive). She was 12-of-18 from the field.
 
LCU, who out-shot Texas last week, nearly out-shot MSU, shooting 37.5% (24/64) from the field and holding MSU to a 38.1% (32/84) shooting mark in the game. The Lady Chaps received 17 points from Schulte, who was 3-of-5 from long range. LCU also received 16 points and seven boards from Chitsey (all 16 points were in the opening quarter).
 
The Lady Chaps closed their grueling exhibition season 0-3 and are 4-5 all-time against NCAA Division I opponents (includes a 1-0 record against NCAA Division I opponents in regular season play). LCU now makes the quick transition to the regular season, which opens at Colorado State – Pueblo Friday to face the ThunderWolves at 6:30 p.m. (Central) inside Massari Arena.