NCAA DIV.II SOUTH CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT – SEMIFINALS
No.2-Seed No.15/20 COLORADO MESA (27-3, 20-2 RMAC)
vs. No.3-Seed / No.24/25 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (27-5, 13-1 Heartland)
Saturday, March 16 – 8:00 PM (Central)
Brownson Arena (Grand Junction)
Radio: Double-T 97.3 FM
All-Time Series: LCU leads 1-0

ROAD SHOW
Brownson Arena (capacity: 1,800) was packed Friday night for No.15/20 Colorado Mesa's 75-65 quarterfinals win over Texas A&M Commerce and it should be another enthusiastic-filled arena in Grand Junction, Colo. Saturday night, as No.24/25 Lubbock Christian University faces the Mavericks with a chance to advance to the South Central Region Tournament Championship Tuesday night to face either West Texas A&M or Angelo State.  West Texas A&M and Angelo State are meeting in Canyon, Texas and Tuesday night's game will be hosted by the best remaining seeded team. Friday, the Lady Chaps, playing in their first South Central Region contest ever away from Rip Griffin Center, defeated Tarleton State 84-53. Saturday's game marks the first-ever road game for LCU in a NCAA postseason contest.
 
THE "IF's"
IF LCU WINS: If the Lady Chaps defeat Colorado Mesa, they will improve to 28-5 on the season and will they will improve their South Central Region Tournament all-time record to 11-0 and NCAA Division II postseason all-time record to 11-1. More importantly, they would advance to Tuesday's region championship game to face either West Texas A&M or Angelo State.
 
IF LCU LOSES: If the Lady Chaps fall to the Mavericks, they will be eliminated from the tournament and their season will end with a record of 27-6.

FRIDAY FLASHBACK
Olivia Robertson (18 points) and Allie Schulte (15 points) combined for 33 points in the opening half and No. 24/25 Lubbock Christian University, behind a 61.2% shooting performance, advanced to the Semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament with an 84-53 win over No.6-seed Tarleton State University Friday night inside Brownson Arena. Robertson finished with 23 points, surpassing 1,000 points in her LCU career.  
 
LCU's 61.2% shooting from the field was a season-high and their best shooting performance since ironically shooting 62.7% on Nov. 21, 2017 against Tarleton State.  By the way the game started, a top-notch shooting performance didn't appear to be a possibility.  
 
The Lady Chaps opened the game 1-of-4 from the field, while Tarleton State opened the game 5-of-6 from the floor. Kylie Collins' jumper 3:11 into the opening quarter built Tarleton's lead to 7-2. Schulte connected on a three-point field goal with 6:28 remaining and it ignited LCU's offense. They made six consecutive field goals, with three drained from long range, and the string of shots led to a 17-9 scoring surge for LCU, which placed them with a 19-16 lead with 90 seconds left in the first quarter.  
 
Both LCU (63.6%) and TSU (60%) shot over 60% in the first quarter, but LCU was saving their best for the second quarter. LCU opened the second quarter 8-of-10 from the field, with back-to-back three-point field goals by Robertson mixed in (five three-pointers were made in the 10-shot span). The Lady Chaps finished with a 73.3% (11/15) shooting mark in the second quarter, while Tarleton State was 4-of-11 (36.4%) in the quarter.  Kailin Davis had a +18 plus/minus rating in the quarter. A 13-2 LCU run in the quarter and a 12-point output by Robertson and nine by Schulte in the frame allowed LCU to take a 50-28 lead into the half.  
 
LCU made sure they kept the game out of reach in the third quarter. They shot 66.7% (8-of-12) from the floor in the quarter and outscored TSU 25-15 in the quarter. Maddi Chitsey contributed nine points in the quarter and LCU led 79-43 at the quarter's close. LCU was an accumulative 68.4% (26/38) from the field through three quarters.  
 
The bench flooded the floor through most of the fourth quarter and LCU held firm to their lead. The Lady Chaos had a 17-9 scoring advantage from their bench.  
 
Seven different Lady Chaps had at least one three-pointer in the game. Schulte led LCU going 3-for-3 from three-point range and LCU finished the game 11-of-18 (61.1%) from beyond the arc. The 61.1% outside shooting was LCU's best since shooting 61.9% from long distance on Feb. 10, 2018 against Rogers State.  
 
The Lady Chaps received a game-high 23 points from Olivia Robertson, who tied a program NCAA postseason game-high going 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. LCU also received 17 points from Schulte and 15 points from Chitsey. They received a career-high six assists from Caitlyn Cunyus.  
 
Tarleton had their season end with a 22-9 mark. Mackenzie Haley was TSU's lone player in double figures with 22 points. It is their second season in row to fall in the quarterfinals to LCU.  This season's 31-point margin of victory was a point shy of their 32-point win margin last season against Tarleton in their quarterfinal meeting at Rip Griffin Center.
 
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 14 of the last 15 games (topping 20 in four of the games), which has her averaging 12.6 points per game on the season. She is eighth in the region in blocks (43) and blocks per game (1.3) and 13th in field goals (154). 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 14.0 points and 6.4 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. She has a conference-leading 88.3% free-throw shooting percentage (second in the region and 13th nationally) on the season (106/120), which has her on pace with an 87.9% (261/297) 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, now 10-0 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. Olivia Robertson leads LCU this season with her 23 points Friday and averages 7.5 points per game in six career South Central Region Tournament contests (averages 8.7 points per NCAA postseason 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 fourth nationally. The defensive efforts have led to LCU averaging a margin of victory of 21.2 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 14.1 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 12 games this season and they have a mark of 73.9% on the season (second in the Heartland Conference). Olivia Robertson leads the team (of qualified attempts), shooting 88.3% (106/120) from the line to lead the conference (13^th nationally). 

FROM THE FIELD
Lubbock Christian continues to rank in the top-10 nationally in shooting, ranking fifth nationally with a 48.7% 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 12 occasions, including nine of their last 16 games. They are shooting 49.9% 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 98 assists (3.1 per game), with Caitlyn Cunyus (76, 2.9), Olivia Robertson (74, 2.3) and Bobbi Chitsey (65, 2.1) also playing a role in the ball distribution. LCU averages 16.6 assists (leads the Heartland Conference and ranks 19^th nationally) on 26.3 field goals per game. LCU has 532 assists (leads the conference), ranking 12^th nationally in the category.

MAD HOUSE
Inside player Maddi Chitsey has had the hot-hand for LCU, posting at least 10 points in 14 of the last 15 games (averaging 15.5 points per game over the last 15 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 6.2 rebounds per game over the prior 13 games and is a combined 10-of-20 (50.0%) over the past nine games from three-point range.

ROAD JOURNAL
The Lady Chaps are 7-4 in true road games this season, winning seven of their prior eight road tests. Olivia Robertson leads LCU in away contests with average of 18.0 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 eight road games, they have a forced their opponents into 132 turnovers (16.5 per game) and have limited themselves to 106 turnovers (13.3 per game), which has them outscoring opponents 124-97 in points-off-turnovers in the span (average advantage of 15.5 - 12.1 per game). Combining all road games this season, LCU has committed 179 turnovers (16.3 per game) and have been outscored 188-147 in points-off-turnovers (an average of 17.1 - 13.4 per road game).

BOARD GAMES
The Lady Chaps rank seventh in the Heartland Conference in rebounds per game (34.7, which ranks 254^th of 301 Division II programs), but they lead the Heartland Conference in rebounding margin with a mark of 7.3 (26^th nationally). Olivia Robertson leads LCU with 205 rebounds (6.4 per game). LCU has only been out-rebounded twice over the prior 29 games.

DOWNTOWN
The Lady Chaps rank 15^th nationally with 262 three-pointers on the season and is second with a shooting mark of 39.8% from long range. Allie Schulte leads the team, hitting three-pointers at a pace of 51.4% on the season (55/107), with 55 three-pointers ranking fifth in the conference. Bobbi Chitsey (14/36, 38.9%), Olivia Robertson (11/29, 37.9%) and Caitlyn Cunyus (11/38, 28.9%) lead LCU from beyond the arc this season in road 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 topped 1,000 career points Friday and has 1,012 career points in 119 games, with 516 career rebounds. Chitsey has appeared in 117 career games and has 849 career points, with 394 boards. The pair of seniors, who are each All-Conference selections this season, have a four-year record of 112-17 (86.8%), 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 CMU
- Colorado Mesa qualified as an automatic qualifier after winning the RMAC Tournament with a 67-50 win over Westminster. They are 27-3 on the season (20-2 finish in conference play) afer their 75-65 tournament victory Friday over Texas A&M Commerce.
- The Mavericks went 19-10 last season, with a 13-9 mark RMAC play.
- This is CMU's fifth all-time NCAA South Central Region Tournament appearance and first since 2015, where they fell to Arkansas Fort Smith in Canyon, Texas. They are hosting for a third season all-time.
- Jaylyn Duran who has led the Mavericks all season with 18.9 points and to a RMAC Tournament and Regular Season Championship was recently named the South Central Regional Player of the Year by D2CCA.
- Colorado Mesa ranks third nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 51.4 points per game this season. They allowed 65 points Friday to TAMUC, which was the second-most they have allowed this season.

THE SERIES AGAINST CMU
The Lady Chaps and Mavs have only met once prior, meeting in Gunnison, Colo. on Nov. 21, 2003 in a neutral site contest. LCU was victorious 74-73 and the contest was Coach Steve Gomez's third all-time win, as the 16^th-year head coach was in his first season coaching the Lady Chaps.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING VS. CMU
November 21, 2003 (Gunnison, Colo.): LCU 74 - CMU 73
Lubbock Christian University was able to hold off Colorado Mesa 74-73 in a tightly played contest on a neutral site floor in Gunnison, Colo.
 
LCU won despite CMU having a 49.1% shooting mark (28/57), compared to 40.6% (26/64) by the Lady Chaps. The 9-5 advantage in three-point shooting proved to be the difference, with Lindsay Reeves going 5-of-12 from long range in the win for LCU. She finished with 17 points, which a point behind LCU leading scorer Val Wootan (18). Cari Bigham also provided 14 points for the Lady Chaps, who had 10 steals in the contest.