NCAA DIV.II SOUTH CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT – QUARTERFINALS
No.6-Seed TARLETON (22-8, 14-6 Lone Star)
vs. No.3-Seed / No.24/25 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (26-5, 13-1 Heartland)
Friday, March 15 – 9:30 PM (Central)
Brownson Arena (Grand Junction)
Radio: TBA (based on Texas Tech Basketball)
All-Time Series: TSU leads 21-5

HEADING TO THE RIVER CITY
Lubbock Christian University clinched their third NCAA Division II postseason berth with their third Heartland Conference Tournament title Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. LCU claimed the No.3-seed in the South Central Region Tournament and they head to Grand Junction, Colo. for a quarterfinals contest against Tarleton State University Friday at 9:30 p.m. (Central). With No.1-seed West Texas A&M also holding the top-seed in the men's basketball tournament, the No.2-seed will also host quarterfinals and semifinal contests. Following the semifinals, the best remaining seed will host the region championship game Tuesday.
 
THE "IF's"
IF LCU WINS: If the Lady Chaps defeat Tarleton State, they will improve to 27-5 on the season and will they will improve their South Central Region Tournament all-time record to 10-0 and NCAA Division II postseason all-time record to 10-1. More importantly, they would advance to Saturday's semifinal contest scheduled for 8 p.m. (Central) against either Colorado Mesa or Texas A&M Commerce
 
IF LCU LOSES: If the Lady Chaps fall to the TexAnns, they will be eliminated from the tournament and their season will end with a record of 26-6.

SUNDAY SUMMARY
Four Lady Chaparrals finished in double figures in points, including a 24-point performance by Tournament MVP Maddi Chitsey and a double-double from Olivia Robertson (12 points, 11 rebounds), as No.25 Lubbock Christian University claimed their third Heartland Conference Tournament title with a 78-51 victory over Newman University Sunday afternoon at Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC). The win, which was the largest win margin in Heartland Conference Tournament championship game history, provided LCU an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Lady Chaps did not leave much doubt early, as LCU answered Newman's opening bucket with a 10-0 run. Maddi Chitsey scored LCU's first seven points and LCU opened the game 5-of-5 from the field, with Caitlyn Cunyus mixing in a three-pointer. Allie Schulte made a three-pointer before Chitsey hit two more field goals to help LCU start the game 8-of-10 from field for a 19-7 advantage with 4:15 left in the quarter. Chitsey swished two more attempts in the quarter and finished with 13 points off 6-of-7 shooting in the frame, as LCU racked up 30 points in the quarter for a 30-12 lead. LCU was 13-of-21 in the quarter (61.9%) from the field and had a 16-3 rebound advantage.

LCU connected on seven three pointers in the first half of play (on 16 attempts) and Cunyus hit one of the three-pointers as part of her seven points in the second quarter. The two squads played an even-matched second quarter and LCU took a 47-28 lead into the halftime break. Cunyus and Chitsey each co-led LCU with 13 points in the half. The two teams combined for two turnovers in the opening half and all of LCU's 47 points came from the field (zero free-throws attempted).

Haley Albers hit a three-pointer 1:21 into the third quarter for Newman to cut LCU's lead to 49-33, but LCU responded with a 12-2 run. LCU outscored the Jets 18-12 in the quarter, with all 18 points balanced between Robertson (5), Chitsey (5), Cunyus (4) and Schulte (4).

Halfway into the fourth quarter, LCU built the lead to its largest (75-45) and then went to the bench for the game's remainder. Chitsey added six points in the quarter before exiting with 24 points.

Cunyus was 8-of-12 from the field (4-of-7 from three-point range) and finished with 20 points to match a career high. Robertson, recording her fifth double-double of the season, had a well-rounded performance with 12 points off 5-of-8 shooting and added 11 rebounds and six assists. Chitsey was 9-of-14 from the field (2-of-3 from long distance) and had nine rebounds to miss out on a double-double. Schulte rounded out the LCU foursome in double figures with 13 points. She knocked down two of LCU's 10 three-pointers made (10/27, 37%).

The Lady Chaps, 49.2% (31/63) shooting from the field, held Newman to 35.8% shooting from the field (19/53). Newman was led by Bria DeGrate (14 points) and Kaitlyn Potter (13 points), who was 4-of-5 from three-point range. LCU out-rebounded the Jets 43-26. For a second consecutive game, LCU kept their turnovers to less than 10, with seven in the game.

LCU closed their final Heartland Conference Tournament with an all-time tournament record of 11-1. The Jets season ended with a 21-10 record.
 
SUMMARIZING THE TITLE TALK
On Feb. 16, 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 marked 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. As for the Heartland Conference Tournament title, Sunday's claiming was LCU's third Heartland Conference Tournament championship and their fourth conference  tournament championship in program history.
 
ALL-REGION ACCOLADES
Lubbock Christian University women's basketball's Maddi Chitsey and Olivia Robertson each received D2CCA All-South Central Region Team honors for the 2018-19 season.

Chitsey, a junior from Wall, Texas is coming off All-Tournament Team and MVP honors at the Heartland Conference Tournament after setting the program tournament scoring record averaging 20.3 points per contest on 59% (23/39) shooting. She has posted at least 10 points in 13 of the last 14 games (topping 20 in four of the games), which has her averaging 12.5 points per game on the season. She is eighth in the region in blocks (43) and blocks per game (1.4) and 13th in field goals (149). Chitsey was a Heartland Conference preseason and regular season All-Heartland Conference selection this season.

Robertson leads the Lady Chaps in scoring and rebounding this season with an average of 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The Kerrville, Texas native was an All-Tournament Team selection last week at the Heartland Conference Tournament with an average of 10.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, as she claimed her team-leading fifth double-double in the championship game of the tournament. Robertson heads to Grand Junction, Colo. 11 points shy of 1,000 points in her LCU career. She has a conference-leading 87.6% free-throw shooting percentage (second in the region and 16th nationally) on the season (99/113), which has her on pace with an 87.6% (254/290) career free-throw shooting percentage to finish second all-time in LCU program history. She is one of five players in the region with at least 425 points and 200 rebounds on the season.

Named to the Second Team, Chitsey and Robertson mark the second season since joining NCAA Division II in which multiple Lady Chaps have been recognized. 
 
 
LCU ALL-CONFERENCE CONVERSATION
The All-Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Team honors were announced prior to the opening day of play at the Heartland Conference Tournament at the Pre-Tournament Awards Social. Here is a glance at LCU's award winners:

Steve Gomez – Coach of the Year
Olivia Robertson – First Team
Maddi Chitsey – First Team
Bobbi Chitsey – Honorable Mention
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT (CONFERENCE)
Maddi Chitsey tallied an LCU program single-game high for Heartland Conference Tournament performances with 24 points against Newman Sunday, leading to Conference Tournament MVP honors, as the conference announced the All-Tournament Team honors following LCU's win over Newman in the title game in Tulsa, Okla. Along with Chitsey, LCU's Olivia Robertson (10.3 points, 8.0 rebounds) and Allie Schulte (11.3 points, 3.3 assists) also received All-Tournament Team accreditation.
 
REGIONAL REVIEW
The Lady Chaparrals are making their third all-time appearance in the South Central Region Tournament, but this season marks their first appearance in which they are not hosting. LCU, 9-0 all-time in South Central Region Tournament games, hosted the 2016 and 2018 tournaments inside Rip Griffin Center. Last season, Tess Bruffey claimed Most Outstanding Tournament honors at the South Central Region tournament averaging 16.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 4.7 blocks per game. The two-time recipient of the honor had a triple-double in the title game against West Texas A&M. Maddi Chitsey also claimed All-Tour­nament honors after scoring 15.7 points per game. She also averaged 5.0 rebounds and was 5-of-11 (.455) from long range. All-time, former Lady Chap Haley Fowler leads the team in the tournament (scoring average), averaging 17.0 points a game.
 
NOBODY'S HOME
LCU is appearing in Grand Junction, Colo., which is away from the Rip Griffin Center, where LCU went 14-0 this season. With their last home game, which resulted in a 72-44 win over St. Edward's Saturday, LCU extended their active home win streak to 64 games, which ranks tied for 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 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
64 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
64 - Glenville St. Jan. 16, 1999-Dec. 1, 2004
64 - Delta St. Jan. 27, 2007-Nov. 12, 2011

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian held opponents to 47.7 points per game in conference play and they are holding opponents to 52.0 per game overall this season, which ranks fifth nationally. The defensive efforts have led to LCU averaging a margin of victory of 20.8 points per game, which ranks seventh nationally. The Lady Chaps produced a 27.7 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 14.0 fouls per game. Fouls have led LCU to outscoring their opponents 12.3 – 9.7 in points a game from the free-throw line. On Mar. 7 at the conference tournament, LCU allowed two free-throw attempts to Texas A&M International, which was the lowest amount during the 16-year coaching tenure of Steve Gomez at LCU. The Lady Chaps have shot over 80% from the free-throw line in 11 games this season and they have a mark of 73.5% on the season (second in the Heartland Conference). Olivia Robertson leads the team (of qualified attempts), shooting 87.6% (99/113) from the line to lead the conference (16^th nationally). 

FROM THE FIELD
Lubbock Christian continues to rank in the top-10 nationally in shooting, ranking sixth nationally with a 48.4% 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 11 occasions, including eight of their last 15 games. They are shooting 48.1% this season in neutral site 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. Both Chitsey sisters also claimed All-Conference honors this season.

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 95 assists (3.1 per game), with Caitlyn Cunyus (71, 2.7), Olivia Robertson (73, 2.4) and Bobbi Chitsey (65, 2.2) also playing a role in the ball distribution. LCU averages 16.6 assists (leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 19^th nationally) on 26.2 field goals per game. LCU has 516 assists (leads the conference), ranking 13^th nationally in the category.

MAD HOUSE
Inside player Maddi Chitsey has had the hot-hand for LCU, posting at least 10 points in 13 of the last 14 games (averaging 15.6 points per game over the last 14 games). In their last three-game road swing of the regular season, Maddi produced a 17.0-point and 6.7-rebounding average. She returned home for the regular season finale and posted 17 points. The shooting numbers continued in Tulsa, where she set LCU's Heartland Conference Tournament single-tournament scoring average mark with an average of 20.3 points. Chitsey is also averaging 6.3 rebounds per game over the prior 12 games and is a combined 9-of-18 (50.0%) over the past eight games from three-point range.

NEUTRALIZING THINGS
The Lady Chaps are 5-1 this season in neutral court play.  They went 1-1 at the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas and then defeated Simon Fraser at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Bellingham, Wash. (Dec. 18, 2018) before going 3-0 at the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa. Three Lady Chaps average at least 10 points a game in neutral site play, with Maddi Chitsey (15.8) and Olivia Robertson (11.7) leading the way.

BOARD GAMES
The Lady Chaps rank seventh in the Heartland Conference in rebounds per game (34.9, which ranks 250^th of 301 Division II programs), but they lead the Heartland Conference in rebounding margin with a mark of 7.3 (23^rd nationally). Olivia Robertson leads LCU with 200 rebounds (6.5 per game). LCU has only been out-rebounded twice over the prior 28 games.

DOWNTOWN
The Lady Chaps rank 26^th nationally with 251 three-pointers on the season and is fifth with a shooting mark of 39.2% from long range. Allie Schulte leads the team, hitting three-pointers at a pace of 50.0% on the season (52/104), with 50 three-pointers ranking fifth in the conference. Schulte (14-of-29, .483), Caitlyn Cunyus (9-of-19, .474) and Olivia Robertson (7-of-15, .467) lead LCU from beyond the arc this season in neutral site games.
 
SENIOR SALUTE
Seniors Olivia Robertson and Bobbi Chitsey are playing in their final postseason as members of the Lady Chaps. Each member are the last remaining active members off LCU's 2015-16 NCAA Division II National Championship squad. Robertson enters Friday with 118 games played and 989 career points, with 511 career rebounds. Chitsey has appeared in 116 career games and has 842 career points, with 391 boards. The pair of seniors, who are each All-Conference selections this season, have a four-year record of 111-17 (86.7%), which includes a closing out a 57-5 conference record and a 57-0 home record (never losing a home game).
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TARLETON
- Tarleton qualified as an at-large bid after falling 108-103 in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament against Angelo State. They are 22-8 on the season after a 14-6 finish in conference play.
- The TexAnns went 20-12 last season, with a 12-8 mark in Lone Star Conference play. They qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament as the No.8-seed and fell to the Lady Chaps in the opening round of the tournament.
- It is the TexAnns ninth overall appearance and third consecutive berth.
- McKinley Bostad ranks 13^th nationally in assist-turnover ratio (2.56). She averages 3.8 assists per game.
- Tarleton ranks 13^th nationally in steals (337) and steals per game (11.2). They racked up 19 in the previous meeting against LCU. Kaylee Allen ranks 39^th nationally with 2.5 steals per game. The steals has the TexAnns forcing 19.4 turnovers per game.

THE SERIES AGAINST TARLETON
The TexAnns have dominated the all-time series 21-5, but LCU has won three of the prior four meetings. Their previous meeting (Nov. 21, 2018) resulted in LCU's largest loss deficit of the season (67-56). LCU is 1-0 all-time against Tarleton State in NCAA Division II postseason play and Feb. 2, 1990 marked the last time the two programs met in a neutral site meeting (Tarleton is 2-0 in neutral site play in the all-time series).
 
PREVIOUS MEETING VS. TARLETON
November 21, 2018 (Stephenville, Texas): TSU 67 - LCU 56
No.3/10 Lubbock Christian University was plagued with 26 turnovers, leading to a 31-4 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers for Tarleton State University, who defeated LCU 67-56 inside Wisdom Gym.

LCU's 26 turnovers were a season high and the most since they suffered their last regular season loss; suffering 28 on Nov. 24, 2017 against Ashland. LCU committed at least five turnovers in each quarter, with nine committed in the opening quarter of play.

The opening quarter turnovers, combined with three offensive rebounds, led to the TexAnns producing eight more field goal attempts. The difference allowed a 37.5%-shooting Tarleton squad (6-of-16) to lead a 50%-shooting LCU squad (4-of-8) 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.

LCU had an 11-9 lead after an Olivia Robertson jumper with 3:09 left in the opening quarter, but LCU went the final 3:09 of the quarter, and a total time of 4:18 without a point. They suffered a similar circumstance in the second quarter. After making six consecutive field goal attempts, LCU went the final 4:20 of the half, and the next 4:44 of the game, without a point.

The Lady Chaps trailed 36-26 at the half despite shooting 50% (10/20) from the field. They had 14 turnovers in the opening half, leading to TSU outscoring LCU 17-0 in points-off-turnovers. The TexAnns benefited off a balanced appetite of offense, receiving offensive production from seven different players (TSU had an 11-0 advantage in points off the bench in the first half).

LCU twice chipped the deficit down to eight in the third quarter before the TexAnns went on a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 47-32 with 3:28 remaining in the quarter. Neither team had more than a 7-0 run and LCU closed the third quarter with a 7-0 run sparked by a steal by Robertson to setup a layup by Ashton Duncan with 2:42 left in the quarter. The run cut the TSU lead to 47-39 to start the fourth quarter.

Consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays by Robertson and a free-throw by Emma Middleton led a second 7-0 run in the half for LCU and they were able to cut the deficit to 57-51 with 1:45 to go. Each time LCU pulled within seven points or less in the final seven minutes of the game, the TexAnns either never missed from the field (2-of-2) or earned a trip to the free-throw line (9-of-12 from the line in the quarter). A 61-55 deficit with 47 seconds remaining would be as close as LCU would get.

The TexAnns produced 19 steals, which is the most by an LCU opponent since Texas A&M International had 19 steals against LCU on Nov. 21, 2005. Kaylee Allen produced eight steals for the TexAnns, marking the most by an opposing player since Kesha Buckner had eight steals for Newman on Jan. 8, 2015.

Allen also had a solid performance from the field, shooting 6-of-12 overall and 3-of-4 from long range for a team-leading 17 points. Mackenzie Allen added 15 points and seven rebounds for Tarleton St, who improved to 4-1 on the season. Tarleton was 45.8% (22/48) from the field.

Robertson, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter, led all players with 23 points off 7-of-9 shooting from the field. She was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, drawing 11 fouls. LCU also received 12 points from Maddi Chitsey. LCU was 47.6% from the field (20/42) and 3-of-12 from three-point range (coming off 16 in their previous game).