COMPLETE THE WEEKEND
It has been a while since Lubbock Christian University went into a weekly pair of games against two opponents in which they dropped meetings to in the prior season encounter, but that is the situation for No.9 LCU this week, hosting No.10 West Texas A&M Thursday and now Eastern New Mexico Saturday at 1 p.m. LCU dropped their first two games of the season in January, falling at Eastern New Mexico (69-68 in overtime on Jan. 16) and West Texas A&M (64-56 on Jan 18). LCU (18-3 overall) improved to 5-2 in divisional play by revenging their prior loss to WT with a 67-43 win Thursday and aim to remain perfect at home (10-0) facing ENMU. LCU needs to win their remaining three divisional contests and WT would need to lose Saturday at Angelo State for LCU to grab a share of the division title. Win or lose (the division title), the seedings of the LSC Championships are based on overall conference record (LCU is currently third with an 12-3 conference mark).
 
THURSDAY'S RIVALRY MEETING
No.9 Lubbock Christian University used a 16-1 first-half run to surge past No.10 West Texas A&M 67-43, ending the Lady Buffs 12-game win streak. LCU was led by Allie Schulte, who had 17 points and matched a career-high with five steals in the Lone Star Conference division contest inside Rip Griffin Center.

WT, falling to 20-4 overall, 13-2 in the conference and 8-1 in division play, was held to a season-low 43 points. It is the fewest points WT has scored since Washburn held them to 36 on Mar. 9, 2012. The Lady Buffs, 37.8% (17/45) from the field, received 18 points from Abby Spurgin. She had eight of WT's 17 field goals. Braylyn Dollar also finished with 11 points.

LCU won despite 23 rebounds. Their lowest rebound mark since 22 on Mar. 4, 2011 (against Southern Nazarene) and their lowest total in a win since 22 on Feb. 24, 2011 (against John Brown). The Lady Chaps were 52.9% (27/51) from the field. Schulte was 8-of-12 and also finished with four assists and had half of LCU's 10 steals in the game. Caitlyn Cunyus (plus/minus of +26) finished with 14 points and Ashton Duncan (plus/minus of +27) posted 12 points off four three-pointers. Of LCU's 23 rebounds, four were offensive and they scored second-chance points off each of the offensive boards (8 points). LCU committed two turnovers in the opening half and finished with nine, while forcing 18, which led to a 24-8 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers.

LONE STAR DEBUT
The Lady Chaps are playing in their first season in the Lone Star Conference and are 11-3 this season in conference play. A trio of Lady Chaps are averaging double figures in LSC play, led by Maddi Chitsey, who is averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per conference game. Allie Schulte (13.4) and Ashton Duncan (10.8) are each averaging in double figures in conference contests. LCU has the advantage in three-point field goals (118-78), steals (113-97) and blocks (78-42) in LSC games. The Lady Chaps have a scoring margin per-game of 15.1 and are holding opponents to a 33.6% shooting mark in those contests.
 
THE MIDDLETON AGES
Lady Chaps junior Emma Middleton had three career three-pointers prior to Jan. 11, but since then is 6-of-8 from three-point range and is now 8-of-13 from long range this season. She has three-pointers in four of the prior nine games played. 
 
LONG DISTANCE NEWS
Ashton Duncan leads LCU with 56 three-pointers this season (third in the LSC). Duncan leads the LSC shooting 42.7% from long range (ranks 28^th nationally) and ranks second in the LSC with 2.7 three-pointers per game. She has made at least three three-pointers in 11 games this season, including a career-high six treys Saturday at UT Tyler (She has combined for 10 over the prior two games).
 
TOO MUCH MATH INVOLVED
Despite not having one individual player in the top-five in the LSC in assist/turnover ratio, LCU still leads the LSC with a team assist/turnover ratio of 1.17, which ranks 21^st nationally. LCU's individual leader is Caitlyn Cunyus, who ranks sixth in the LSC with a 1.53 ratio (ranks 94^th nationally).
 
WHEN AT HOME
LCU went 15-0 last season inside Rip Griffin Center. With LCU's 67-43 win over West Texas A&M Thursday, LCU extended their active home win streak to 75 games, which ranks third all-time in NCAA Division II women's basketball (it actively leads all of NCAA). 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, who also has a 7-0 mark in NCAA postseason play in Lubbock in the mix, has also won 63 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
75 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
 
NCAA'S ACTIVE-LEADING HOME WIN STREAKS 
75 – LCU (Division II)
52 – Baylor (Division I)
50 – Drury (Division II)
33 – Iowa (Division I)
 
MORE ON THE HOME FRONT
LCU is 10-0 at home this season. Maddi Chitsey leads LCU averaging 13.9 points at home and joins Allie Schulte (13.2) and Ashton Duncan (10.2) as players averaging double figures in points at home. LCU is shooting 47.1% at home this season and they are holding opponents to a 31.7% shooting mark. They are 84.8% (112/132) from the free-throw line at home and have a 48-15 advantage in blocked shots.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Based on the preseason rankings for the 2019-20 season (D2SIDA, WBCA along with Lone Star Conference), the Lady Chaparrals carry the highest expectations in program history to start a season. D2SIDA placed the defending national champions No.1 and the WBCA ranked LCU No.2 despite the Lady Chaps receiving 14 of the 23 first place votes. Each ranking marked their highest preseason ranking in program history. The LSC preseason ranked LCU No.1 in their preseason rankings. LCU held their debut rankings for seven-in-season rankings, until dropping to No.9 (WBCA) and No.21 (D2SIDA) on Jan. 21. They worked their way to No.8 in the WBCA poll until falling at A&M-Commerce and enter this week No.9 (WBCA) and No.22 (D2SIDA).
 
HOW TOUGH IS IT?
LCU's strength of schedule, of games played, ranks as the fourth toughest schedule of games played in NCAA Division II play. LCU's opponents have combined for a .613 win percentage. They have the second-toughest strength of schedule of games played of ranked programs. The Lady Chaps have faced four nationally ranked programs and LCU is 2-2 against those foes this season (LCU went 6-1 last season against nationally ranked foes).
 
BLOCK PARTIES ARE BACK
LCU ranks ninth nationally in blocks (111) and 12th in blocks per game (5.3). Maddi Chitsey leads the team with 46 blocks (third in the conference and 18th nationally), at a pace of 2.2 per game (third in the conference and 20^th nationally). LCU has ranked in the top-10 nationally in blocks each season since the 2015-16 season, which was their first season eligible to have statistics included among NCAA leaders. They ranked 10th in total blocks last season (155), second in 2017-18 (202, ranking fourth with a pace of 6.1 per game), fourth in 2016-17 (170, leading the nation with 5.7 per game) and led NCAA Division II in 2015-16 with 235 blocks (6.7 per game).
 
CHARITY WORK
The Lady Chaps lead the LSC in free-throw percentage (ranking 23^rd nationally) at 77.8%. In each season LCU has been eligible to have team statistics included among NCAA Division II leaders (2015-15), the Lady Chaps have finished in the top-three in their conference in free-throw shooting. They led the Heartland Conference in 2017-18 with a 76.2% mark from the line, ranking 33rd nationally. Their highest national ranking is 32nd (75.0%) from the 2015-16 season. Maddi Chitsey leads LCU and is fifth in the LSC with a 75.3% shooting mark from the line (Caitlyn Cunyus, 41/46 - 89.1% and Madelyn Turner, 30/33 - 90.9% do not qualify with enough attempts).
 
BE DEFENSIVE
The Lady Chaps lead the LSC and rank seventh nationally, holding opponents to a 32.9% shooting mark on the season. Of their 21 contests, LCU has held the opponent to under a 30% shooting mark seven times and the highest shooting percentage they have allowed in a game was 42.9% by UT Tyler (Saturday), which has been the only time an opponent shot over 40% in a game this season against LCU.
 
D-NOTES
The Lady Chaps entered the week leading the LSC in defensive rebounds a game with a mark of 28.3 per contest, but head into Saturday third in the LSC (27.8, which ranks 69^th nationally). Their team leaders in defensive rebounds per game is Maddi Chitsey, who ranks eighth in the LSC with 4.9 per contest.
 
FIVE THINGS ABOUT ENMU
1 > The Greyhounds are coming off a 19-11 campaign in 2018-19, which came to an end in the NCAA Division II South Central region tournament with a loss to WT. They went 5-8 on the road last season and are 7-3 this season in road games following an 84-60 road win at ENMU.
2 > ENMU is preseason picked sixth in the LSC Preseason Poll. They are 16-5 overall this season with a 10-5 conference record and a 5-4 divisional record.
3 > Since LCU last saw ENMU, Tahoka, Texas native and redshirt freshman Natalie Stice has moved into the starting lineup. She posted 8 points against LCU in the previous meeting and is averaging 9.6 points a game over the prior seven games. She is 14-of-28 (50%) from long range over the prior six games.
4 > ENMU leads the LSC and is 10th nationally in offensive rebounds per game, with an average of 17.3 per game. Jasmine Williams (fourth in the LSC) leads the team with 3.0 offensive boards per game.
5 > Zamorye Cox, who posted a season-high 29 points in the previous meeting against LCU, enters the week leading the LSC in steals per game (2.8), which is 21^st nationally.

THE SERIES AGAINST ENMU
The 'Hounds own a 24-15 all-time advantage against the Lady Chaps, but LCU has won 11 of the last 14 meetings. ENMU's win on Jan. 16 (69-68 in overtime in Portales, N.M.) ended a six-game win streak in the series for LCU. The Lady Chaps are 7-3 all-time against ENMU under head coach Steve Gomez. The previous meeting in Lubbock came last season, with LCU winning 64-48 in Lubbock (Dec. 31, 2018). LCU is 5-3 all-time in Lubbock (5-4 if an exhibition game from 1988 is included). ENMU's last win in Lubbock was on Jan. 6, 1992, as LCU has won the previous seven meetings in Lubbock.

ACTIVE LADY CHAP LEADERS VS. ENMU
Here is a look at LCU's top three active leaders career vs. ENMU:

Caitlyn Cunyus 3GP 9.0 pts/g, 4/10 3pt-FG
Maddi Chitsey 3GP 10.7 pts/g, 7.3 reb/g
Emma Middleton 2GP 8.0 pts/g, 7/10 FG

PREVIOUS RECAP VS. ENMU
Jan. 16, 2020 (Portales, N.M.) - ENMU:69 - LCU:68 (OT)
Zamorye Cox was able to scoop up a loose ball during a rebound scramble and muscle it up for a successful shot attempt with eight seconds remaining in overtime to help Eastern New Mexico upset No.1 Lubbock Christian University 69-68 in a Lone Star Conference divisional contest inside Greyhound Arena Thursday night. The loss snapped a 25-game win streak for the Lady Chaps and it marked their first loss of the season (14-1).

Cox's shot to win the game capped a 29-point performance. It also helped complete a late comeback, as the Greyhounds overcame a 68-65 deficit with 2:28 remaining. Natalie Stice hit a runner with 1:37 remaining to pull ENMU within a point (68-67), but was unable to connect on a three-pointer following an LCU turnover, leading to LCU obtaining the ball with 43 seconds remaining. LCU's Maddi Chitsey missed a three-pointer with 23 seconds left and it led to the final heroics by the Greyhounds. A three pointer with 10 seconds left was missed by ENMU, and just when it appeared a jump-ball whistle would occur, Cox came out of the scrum with a shot that made its way in. LCU had a final possession, but an off-balanced shot attempt by Chitsey would not fall.

It would have been a devastating blow to ENMU if Chitsey's shot would have been good. ENMU led for 37:14 of the game (LCU led 4:23). The Greyhounds had 10 offensive rebounds in the opening quarter, leading to a 10-0 scoring advantage in the quarter in second-chance scoring. ENMU led 21-14 after the opening quarter and juiced the lead to 13 points with 5:23 remaining in the second quarter (LCU's largest deficit this season). LCU shot 69.2% (9-of-13) in the second quarter and a 9-of-10 shooting stretch to close the half led to an 11-0 run and LCU eventually trailed ENMU 35-34 at the half.

ENMU pushed the lead back to six points twice in the third quarter, but Ashton Duncan and Madelyn Turner each hit three-pointers in the final 41 seconds of the quarter (Turner's three came at the buzzer) and LCU tied the game 50-50 at the quarter's close. Two minutes into the fourth quarter Emma Middleton hit a jumper to give LCU their first lead of the game (52-51). A 4-1 ENMU run placed the Greyhounds with their largest lead of the quarter. LCU's final five points in regulation were recorded at the free-throw line, including a pair by Chitsey to tie the game at 63-63. Stice had an open look from long range to end the game at the regulation buzzer, but her attempt rimmed out.

Chitsey recorded the first double-double by a Lady Chap this season. She had 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also co-led the team with four assists. Middleton was 7-of-10 from the field and finished with a career-high 16 points. Caitlyn Cunyus had 10 points for LCU and all 10 came after the half.

LCU fell despite a 44.6% (25/56) to 34.2% (26/76) advantage from the field. LCU produced 16 turnovers, while forcing eight. It led to a 15-0 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers for ENMU, marking the first time since joining NCAA Division II in which LCU did not have any points off turnovers. LCU was also outscored 17-2 in second chance scoring after surrendering 18 offensive rebounds (high offensive rebound total by an LCU opponent since Texas A&M-Commerce had 18 on Nov. 12, 2018.

ENMU had a double-double from Alivia Lewis, who posted 18 rebounds and 16 points. Cox was 12-of-23 from the field and drew eight fouls in her favor. She also had four steals.