No.20 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-4, 11-0 Heartland)
at NEWMAN (16-9, 7-4 Heartland)
Thursday, February 21 – 5:30 PM
Fugate Gymnasium (Wichita, Kan.)
Radio: Online Only
All-Time Series: LCU leads 10-2

ROAD CLOSURE
Lubbock Christian University concludes a three-game road trip, which has LCU putting their 14-game win streak to the test, facing Newman University for their final road game of the regular season. The Lady Chaps, winners of 29 straight conference games, have already clinched the Heartland Conference regular season title and the top-seed for the conference tournament, but they face a Newman squad hoping to hold the second-place spot in conference. LCU is 11-0 in the conference, with Newman in second place (7-4) and St. Mary's chasing them with a 6-5 conference mark.  

SATURDAY SUMMARY
Maddi Chitsey led No.22 Lubbock Christian University with a game-high 20 points and was the Lady Chaparrals lone player in double figures, as a balanced effort led them to a 61-46 road win over Rogers State University inside Expo Center Saturday afternoon.

Chitsey did most of her damage in the second half, with 15 poured in after the half. She, and the rest of the Lady Chaps, had to overcome a slow offensive start. LCU shot 50% in the game following the opening quarter of play (16-of-32 shooting from the field after the opening quarter).

The opening quarter of play was pulling teeth for the two teams to find an offensive rhythm. LCU, 4-of-14 (28.6%) in the quarter, and RSU combined to shoot 7-of-24 (29.2%) from the field in the quarter. A three-pointer by Caitlyn Cunyus, which was the quarter's only trey (both teams were a combined 1-of-8 from three-point range in the quarter), and a pair of LCU free-throws were the scoring difference, as LCU closed the quarter on a 5-0 run for an 11-6 lead.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Olivia Robertson and five straight points rattled off by Allie Schulte, including a long-distance three-pointer, helped expend the 5-0 run into the second quarter into a 12-2 run for a 18-8 lead. LCU's opening seven field goals of the game were tallied by seven different Lady Chaps and the balance helped provide them a 28-16 halftime lead.

The Lady Chaps opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run, pushing the lead to 33-18. Chitsey was LCU's go-to target in the third quarter. She had six shot attempts from the field and six from the free-throw line, leading to a team-high eight points in the quarter, which helped LCU take a 45-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

LCU used 12 different players in the fourth quarter. Kailin Davis (four points in the quarter) and Chitsey (seven points in the quarter) each bunched-up some scoring runs and LCU was 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the field in the quarter to hold for the victory in their final trip to Expo Center with conference ties involved, as RSU, who joined LCU in the Heartland from the Sooner Athletic Conference, goes to the MIAA next season.

RSU, falling to 11-12 overall and 4-6 in conference, were 38.3% (18/47) from the field and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from downtown. Lauren Schuldt eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in RSU career scoring and led the Hillcats with 13 points.

LCU forced RSU into 19 turnovers and were led by Chitsey's 20 points off the team's 43.5% (20/46) shooting from the field. Olivia Robertson had nine rebounds and eight assists in the win.
 
SUMMARIZING THE TITLE TALK
Saturday, LCU claimed their second consecutive Heartland Conference regular season title (sixth conference title overall in program history and fourth in the Heartland Conference). It also marks the fifth time LCU has finished with at least a share of first place in the Heartland Conference. LCU had a first-place finish during the 2013-2014, when they were not permitted to claim the title label as part of their transition from NAIA.
 
The regular season title gives LCU the No.1-seed at the conference tournament, which runs Mar. 7-10 in Tulsa, Okla. They will open their Tulsa stay facing No.8-seed Texas A&M International Thursday, Mar. 7 at 5 p.m. inside Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC). Tickets for the Heartland Conference Tournament are currently on sale (www.heartlandsports.org/bbchampionship).
 
STEALING THE SHOW
The Lady Chaps have produced at least 10 steals in their last three contests, averaging 11.3 per game over the span. The Last time LCU had such a streak was during the 2015-16 season, as LCU had six consecutive games (Feb. 6, 2016 – Feb. 25, 2016) with at least 10 steals.  The surge of steals has LCU ranking second in the conference, with 217 for a per game average of 8.7. Allie Schulte ranks second in the conference with 1.9 steals per game.   

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian is holding opponents to 46.5 points per game in conference and 52.6 per game overall this season, which ranks seventh nationally. The defensive efforts have led to LCU averaging a margin of victory of 19.2 points per game, which ranks 12^th nationally. The Lady Chaps have a 28.4 scoring margin advantage per game in conference play.

NO FOUL PLAY
The Lady Chaps rank 11th in the nation in fouls per game, with a conference-leading average of 13.8 fouls per game (12.8 in conference). Fouls have led LCU to outscoring their opponents 12.4 – 9.4 in points a game from the free-throw line. The Lady Chaps have shot over 80% from the free-throw line in nine games this season and they have a mark of 73.3% on the season (second in the Heartland Conference). Olivia Robertson leads the team (of qualified attempts), shooting 86.0% (80/93) from the line to rank second in the conference (32^nd nationally). 

FROM THE FIELD
Lubbock Christian continues to rank in the top-20 nationally in shooting, ranking sixth nationally with a 47.7% 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 eight occasions, including five of their last nine games. They are shooting 46.6% this season in road contests.

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. On Jan. 17 against Rogers State, all six scored at least one point, marking the first time the occurrence happened at home.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
LCU has four players with at least an average of 2.0 assists per game. Allie Schulte leads the team with 77 assists (3.1 per game), with Caitlyn Cunyus (2.6), Olivia Robertson (56, 2.2) and Bobbi Chitsey (2.0) also playing a role in the ball distribution. LCU averages 16.0 assists (leads the Heartland Conference) on 25.7 field goals per game. LCU has 401 assists (leads the conference), ranking 21^st nationally in the category.

ROAD JOURNAL
The Lady Chaps are 7-3 in true road games this season, winning their prior seven road tests. Olivia Robertson leads LCU in away contests with average of 17.8 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 seven road games, they have a forced their opponents into 121 turnovers (17.3 per game) and have limited themselves to 84 turnovers (12.0 per game), which has them outscoring opponents 114-70 in points-off-turnovers in the span (average advantage of 16.3 - 10.0 per game). Combining all road games this season, LCU has committed 157 turnovers (15.7 per game) and have been outscored 161-137 in points-off-turnovers (an average of 16.1 - 13.7 per road game).
 
MAD HOUSE
Inside player Maddi Chitsey has had the hot-hand for LCU, posting at least 10 points in seven of the last eight games (averaging 14.4 points per game over the last eight games). Last week (two road games), Maddi produced a 18.5-point and 7.5-rebounding average. She was 50% (14/28) from the field (2-of-5 from three-point range), with seven field goals in each win. Maddi opened the week with 17 points off a 7-of-11 shooting performance at Arkansas-Fort Smith, missing a double-double by a rebound (nine rebounds), and followed with a 20-point outing at Rogers State, with 15 tallied in the second half.

HAVING HEART
LCU, winners of 29 straight conference games, is the only unbeaten (11-0) team in Heartland Conference play this season. The Lady Chaps 11-0 record in conference has been led by Maddi Chitsey, who has an average of 12.1 points per conference game. Olivia Robertson (11.9) and Allie Schulte (10.5) join Chitsey in double figures in points. LCU has a 171-128 advantage in turnovers (forced) in conference contests, leading to a 192-108 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers. They are also benefiting off an average advantage of 11.7 – 4.5 second-chance-points per conference game and their bench averaging 26.1 points per conference game. The Lady Chaps are shooting 49.8% from the field in conference and shooting 37.0% from three-point range, with an 90-39 advantage in three-pointers (LCU is 58.2% inside the arc in conference). Opponents are 33.0% from the field and 25.3% from three-point range. LCU's defense has a 104-52 advantage in steals in conference games, with Allie Schulte leading the team with 20 (1.8 per game).

BOARD GAMES
The Lady Chaps rank seventh in the Heartland Conference in rebounds per game (34.2, which ranks 268^th of 301 Division II programs), but they lead the Heartland Conference in rebounding margin with a mark of 6.4 (34^th nationally). Olivia Robertson leads LCU with 154 rebounds (6.2 per game). LCU has only been out-rebounded twice over the prior 22 games and they have 102 more rebounds through 11 conference games (+9.3 per conference game).

DOWNTOWN
The Lady Chaps rank 37^th nationally with 197 three-pointers on the season and is sixth with a shooting mark of 38.6% from long range. Allie Schulte leads the team, hitting three-pointers at a pace of 51.2% on the season (44/86), with 44 three-pointers ranking fifth in the conference. Bobbi Chitsey is 17-of-39 (.436) from three-point range in conference play and joins Schulte (17-of-34, .500) to co-lead the team with 17 three-pointers in conference (1.5 per conference game).
 
IN DEPTH
Looking inside the Lady Chaps current 14-game win streak, it is nearly split with a 6-0 home and 7-0 road record (1-0 in neutral site play). Olivia Robertson (12.8), Maddi Chitsey (12.5) and Bobbi Chitsey (10.9) are each averaging double figures in the current streak. LCU is shooting 48.2% from the field in the streak and they have an 107-58 advantage in three-point field goals. Schulte (22-of-46, .478) and Bobbi Chitsey (21-of-50, 42.0%) lead LCU from long range in the streak. Of the 14 games, LCU has had five different players lead them in individual game scoring.   
 
REGIONAL REVIEW
The NCAA released their first South Central Regional Rankings of the season Wednesday and the Lady Chaps are atop the regional standings. The No.1 seed in the final rankings released Mar.10 will serve as host (unless refused) of the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament, and only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament.
 
1          Lubbock Christian
2          Colorado Mesa
3          Westminster
4          West Texas A&M   
5          Angelo State    
6          Eastern New Mexico
7          Tarleton State 
8          St. Mary's       
9          Texas A&M International
10        Western Colorado
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NEWMAN
- The Jets enter the week 16-9 overall and 7-4 in Heartland Conference play. They have won their prior two games and four of their last five contests.
- NU finished the 2017-18 season with a 17-12 record. They went 8-6 in conference and their season came to a close with an opening round loss to Oklahoma Christian at the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla. They opened this season with a No.4 Heartland Conference Preseason Poll ranking.
- Thursday's game is LCU's final trip to Wichita for a conference contest. While LCU is heading to the Lone Star Conference, Newman is heading to become an associate member of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
- The Jets don't mind the outside shot, ranking ninth nationally in three-point field goal attempts (661). They average 8.6 makes a game from long range, ranking 18th nationally. Kaitlyn Potter leads the conference in three-point attempts (224, ranking sixth nationally), three-pointers made (83, ranking second nationally) and three-pointers per game (3.3, second nationally). The Jets attempts this season have ranged from 16-43 on the season, with makes per game ranging from 4-19.
- Newman leads the Heartland Conference in turnover margin, with a mark of 3.2 per game. They average a conference-best with a low mark of 14.4 per game.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NEWMAN
The two programs have met 12 times and all as Heartland Conference foes. LCU leads the all-time series 10-2. LCU has won the prior five meetings, which began with a 60-55 LCU win in Lubbock (Feb. 16, 2017). The Lady Chaps, 3-2 all-time at Newman, won the previous meeting this season 66-58 Jan. 31 in Lubbock.

PREVIOUS MEETING VS. NEWMAN
Jan. 31, 2019 (Lubbock, Texas.): LCU 66 - NU 58
Bobbi Chitsey knocked down a career-high four three-pointers and led four Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals in double figures with 20 points, and LCU was able to use the free-throw line to their advantage in a 66-58 Heartland Conference victory over Newman inside Rip Griffin Center.

Opening the fourth quarter with a 43-41 lead, LCU opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run, which was part of an 8-0 run carrying over from the third quarter and started off by an Allie Schulte lay up as time expired in the third quarter. Newman's Bria DeGrate had an opportunity to end the LCU run with a pair of free-throws, but she missed both. It was part an 8-of-15 shooting performance from the line by the Jets in the fourth quarter. Faith Mason-Vestal also missed a pair of free-throws with 2:24 left and LCU clinging to a 55-51 lead. LCU went on an 8-2 run to put the game out of reach from the Jets, who missed five of their final eight free-throw attempts in the game. Meanwhile, LCU was 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, with Olivia Robertson converting on all eight three-point attempts during the quarter. 

Chitsey was 7-of-9 from the field in her 20-point performance. The senior was 5-of-5 from the field in the first half with 14 points, converting on all four of her three-point attempts in the half. Her first three-pointer helped overcome a 12-9 deficit and LCU took a 14-12 lead into the second quarter. There were seven lead changes in the first half, and the final change of the half took place in the final minute of the half, as Chitsey knocked down back-to-back three-pointers in the final 51 seconds of the half to give LCU 27-24 halftime lead.

The sister-tandem of Bobbi and Maddi Chitsey (2-of-3) were a combined 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the field in the first half, while the remainder of the team was a combined 3-of-14 (21.4%) from the field.

LCU balanced out their scoring in a second half LCU never trailed. Chitsey's two three-pointers to close out the first half led to a 14-2 LCU run to take a 35-26 lead with 6:39 left in the third quarter. Newman rallied from the deficit, receiving a trio of three-pointers from Kaitlyn Potter in the quarter. Her last of the quarter completed an 11-4 run to pull within two (39-37) with 2:08 left in the quarter. Mason-Vestal made a pair of free-throws with 25 seconds left in the quarter to tie the contest 41-41, before Schulte's scoring drive down the right baseline with time expiring to regain the Lady Chaps lead. Newman was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line before the final quarter.

LCU's bench, averaging 29.0 points per game in conference, produced a season-low three points. The starters carried the weight, as all five had at least seven points. Robertson scored all her 14 points in the second half, and the Lady Chaps also received 12 points from Allie Schulte and 10 points from Maddi Chitsey. Bobbi Chitsey also had a game-high six rebounds, two blocks and co-led the game in assists (4).

Newman was led off the bench by Kaitlyn Potter (12 points), who combined for 23 points off the bench alongside Haley Albers (11 points). Abbey George also had 11 points in the loss for the Jets.