SILVER CITY, N.M. (February 29, 2020) – A 20-0 run in the first quarter opened a dominating performance by No.6 Lubbock Christian University, as they surged to a 68-37 Lone Star Conference division victory over Western New Mexico in the regular season finale Saturday inside Drag's Court.
LCU's 20-0 run helped them overcome a 10-6 deficit and it closed the first quarter of play to give LCU a 26-10 lead. The Lady Chaps dominating run was part of a scoring binge in which LCU outscored WNMU 46-10 over a stretch of 20:24.
Along with the run and offensive spark, LCU also out-scored WNMU 22-2 in points-off turnovers, 44-6 in paint scoring and 14-0 in second-chance scoring. A majority of the damage was in the opening half, as LCU had an 18-0 advantage in points-off-turnovers and 22-4 advantage in paint scoring in the opening half of play. LCU held WNMU to 20% (5/25) shooting in the first half and had 12 points each from
Maddi Chitsey and
Allie Schulte to take a 42-17 halftime lead.
During LCU's 46-10 run, WNMU was 2-of-23 (8.7%) from the field. They had a series of nine straight field goal misses and 11 consecutive misses. Their streak of 11 straight misses ended with a Paulina Rodriguez three-pointer, which also ended the 46-10 run. Prior to the three-pointer, LCU had the lead built to a 32-point advantage (52-20 with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter).
Rodriguez's three-pointer started a stretch in which WNMU was 5-of-10 from the field, but they closed the game missing their final nine shot attempts and finished the game shooting 21.7% (10/46) from the field. WNMU was 5-of-30 (16.7%) inside the arc. Rodriguez finished with a game-high 15 points. The Mustangs also received 10 points from Kayla Clark.
LCU, 43.8% from the field (28/64), received 14 points each from
Maddi Chitsey and
Allie Schulte. They also received 11 points from
Madelyn Turner and 10 points from
Emma Middleton.
Juliana Robertson had the most intriguing stat line, posting 10 rebounds and two steals without any points scored.
WNMU had their season end with an 8-18 record (5-17 in conference). LCU, making their first visit to WNMU since Nov. 20, 2007, evened the all-time series against WNMU to 10-10. They have won seven consecutive meetings against the Mustangs.
The Lady Chaps closed the regular season with a 25-3 record and their 19-3 mark in LSC play will send them into the LSC Championships as the No.3-seed. They receive a bye to Thursday's quarterfinal round and will face either No.6-seed Angelo State or No.11-seed Midwestern State (ASU and MSU meet Tuesday in San Angelo, Texas) in a contest scheduled for noon Thursday inside Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased online in advance (for discounted rates prior to 5 p.m. on Mar. 3) at
http://www.lcu.edu/lsctournament .
TURNING POINT
WNMU opened the game 3-of-4 from the field and led 10-6 before LCU went on their 20-0 run, which put them into the game's driver seat.
Madelyn Turner had seven consecutive points in the 20-0 run. Turner finished with nine points in the run and
Allie Schulte also chipped in five points during the stretch. LCU was 7-of-11 from the field during the stretch, which was part of a sequence in which LCU was 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the field.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU's win marked their ninth consecutive win. In the nine-game win streak, the largest deficit they have faced is a four-point deficit, which occurred in the opening quarter trailing 10-6. In comparison, LCU opened the season 14-0, and in seven of the 14 games, LCU faced deficits of at least four points or more in which they had to overcome.
