TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (8-1, 5-1) at No.2 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (6-0, 6-0) January 22, 2021 • 5:30 p.m. Lubbock, Texas • Rip Griffin Center (1,950) TICKETS: Click Here (Online Advanced Purchase Only for Non-Chap Pass Season Pass Holders) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH ONLINE: LSC Digital Network (Online or via OTT apps including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices by searching "LSC Digital Network.") Talent: Chris Due (Play-By-Play), LCU Social Media:
	TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (8-1, 5-1) Location: Laredo, Texas Conference: Lone Star Head Coach: Nate Vogel (Black Hills State, 2002) Roster | Stats | Game Notes
	LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN LADY CHAPS (6-0, 6-0) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Lone Star Head Coach: Steve Gomez (LCU, 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes

FLASHBACK TO 2014
With No.2 Lubbock Christian University hosting Texas A&M International inside Rip Griffin Center for a two-game Lone Star Conference series, there are some lingering flashbacks to the 2013-14 season. In that season, which was LCU's first season playing a NCAA Division II schedule and their first season in the Heartland Conference, LCU (20-0 in conference in 2013-14) and TAMIU (15-5) were the top two teams in the Heartland standings. Fast forward to Friday, LCU heads into the contest 6-0 overall and in conference play, and hosting a Dustdevils squad that is 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play. TAMIU is riding a seven-game win streak and they are 3-0 in road play this season.

RING THE BELLE
LCU is coming off a home-and-home series sweep in West Division play over Angelo State. The Lady Chaps won 65-55 last Thursday in San Angelo, Texas, behind 20 points from Allie Schulte, and followed with 13 three-pointers (11 in the first half) to top the Belles 77-46 inside Rip Griffin Center Saturday.   

RECOGNIZED
LCU's Allie Schulte was this week's Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week recipient in women's basketball. Schulte had another balanced week, leading LCU to West Division wins over Angelo State, in a home-and-home weekend set. She led LCU offensively, averaging 17.5 points per game on .650 (13/20) shooting from the field, which included 7-of-11 shooting (.636) from three-point range. At Angelo State Thursday, Schulte was 4-of-6 from long range, with three in the second half, to lead LCU with 20 points. The mark was one point off of her career high. The senior guard followed with a team-leading 15 points and a +35 plus/minus in 23 minutes of play Saturday to top the Belles at home. Schulte was 3-of-5 from long range in the win, assisting LCU in knocking down 11 three-pointers in the first half. She also combined for eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.
 
The honor was the second "offensive" weekly honor in Schulte's career and the first of this season. She was the only player in the LSC last season to claim "offensive" and "defensive" player of the week awards. The Nazareth, Texas native is the second Lady Chaps member to receive weekly honors this season, joining Ashton Duncan, who claimed "offensive" honors in the opening week of play.

STEALING THE SHOW
LCU enters the week ranked 48^th in NCAA Division II in steals (67) and is 21^st in steals per game (11.2). The Lady Chaps have had at least 10 steals in five of their last six games. Allie Schulte leads the team in steals (16) and averages 2.7 per game to rank seventh in the LSC.
 
LONG DISTANCE CALLS
With the 14 three-pointers Saturday against Angelo State, LCU has 70 three-pointers (14^th nationally) in their six games played (11.7 average per game). They have had at least 10 three-pointers in four of their six games played. In Steve Gomez's career coaching the Lady Chaps (this is the 18^th season), only one other season (2017-18) has LCU ever had at least 10 three-pointers in four of their first six games. Even during that 2017-18 season, LCU had 52 three-pointers through their first six games.
 
The Lady Chaps success rate of 42.7% shooting from outside is fourth nationally, and their pace of 11.7 three-pointers per game is also fourth nationally. Ashton Duncan leads LCU with 19 three-pointers (34^th nationally and is second in the LSC), ranking 17th nationally with a conference-best rate of 3.2 per game. Schulte ranks fifth nationally and leads the conference with a shooting percentage of 66.7%, and Duncan ranks sixth in the conference at 42.2%. Eleven (11) different Lady Chaps have at least one three-pointer on the season.

ALLIE CAT
The sharp shooting of Allie Schulte is registering nationally. Schulte leads the LSC and ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage with a mark of 69.4%. From long range, she ranks fifth nationally with a conference-best rate of 66.7%. In six games this season, she has two-or-less missed shots in four of the games. She has not shot less than 60% in a game this season.

THROWING STONES
A look at upcoming milestones on the horizon for Lady Chap members:
-Allie Schulte needs 39 points to reach 1000 career points.
-She ranks second nationally in Division II active players in career games played with 106.
-Is 38 assists away from 300 career assists.
-Actively ranks 25^th in career assists with 262 assists.
-Ashton Duncan needs 14 three-pointers to reach 150 career three-pointers.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
The second in-season D2SIDA poll was released this week, with LCU moving from No.3 nationally to No.2. The WBCA Top-25 Poll is scheduled to begin this month, but they have not conducted any polls to this point (they did not conduct a preseason poll).
 
WHEN AT HOME
LCU went 13-0 last season inside Rip Griffin Center. They enter Friday's play 3-0 this season at home and with their active home win streak sitting at 81 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 69 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 (they are 16-0 in LSC 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
81 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
 
NCAA'S ACTIVE-LEADING HOME WIN STREAKS 
81 – LCU (Division II)
58 – Drury (Division II)
30 – North Georgia (Division II)
30 – Messiah (Division III)
 
MORE ON THE HOME FRONT
Ashton Duncan leads LCU at home this season, averaging 16.0 points per game. Allie Schulte also averages double figures at home, with an average of 13.7 points per home contest. LCU has a 19-3 advantage in blocks at home and they have held opponents to 31.9% shooting. The Lady Chaps are shooting 49.7% on the Rip Griffin Center floor this season, with a 50.7% shooting mark from outside. LCU, averaging 12.7 three-point field goals per home game, have Duncan shooting 63.6% from outside at home. She is 14-of-22 at home this season from outside.
 
BLOCKS ARE BACK
Since their first season as official NCAA Division II members (2015-16), LCU has ranked at least 12^th or better in total blocks (led the nation in 15-16 and ranked second in 17-18) in each season of play and have ranked in the top-14 in four of the five seasons in blocks per game (led the nation in 15-16 and 16-17). This season, LCU looks as if they may keep the trend continuing. They currently rank 12th in blocks (36) and are seventh in blocks per game (6.0), leading the LSC in the per-game category. Emma Middleton (10, third in the conference and 35^th nationally), Whitney Cox (9, fifth in the LSC) and Juliana Robertson (7, 10^th in the conference) place LCU with three players in the top-10 in the LSC in blocks. Middleton also ranks fourth in the LSC and 34^th nationally with 1.67 blocks per game.
 
DISTRIBUTION
With a mark of 1.41, LCU ranks ninth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. LCU's 19.0 assists per game ranks sixth in the nation, with team leader Juliana Robertson averaging 4.2 per game to rank fourth in the conference. Allie Schulte is not far behind, ranking sixth in the conference with a mark of 3.7 per game. Madelyn Turner (2.0) is also averaging over 2.0 assists per game. LCU ranks 31^st nationally in turnovers per game (second in the LSC) with a mark of 13.5 per game (they rank 27^th in turnovers forced and 10^th in turnover margin).
 
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE
Along with ranking 21^st nationally in steals per game, LCU's defense is holding opponents to 45.7 points per game (leads the nation). From the floor, opponents are shooting 31.4% (seventh nationally) and 28.3% from three-point range (49^th nationally).  

FIVE THINGS ABOUT TAMIU
1 > The Dustdevils are coming off an 11-17 season in 2019-20, finishing 8-14 in the Lone Star Conference and 4-6 in the division (finished fifth in their division). They went 6-11 in road contests.
2 > TAMIU rides a seven-game win streak to the Hub City. The 8-1 squad is 4-0 in the South Division after sweeping Texas A&M-Kingsville and St. Edward's. Of their current seven-game win streak, four of the wins are double-figure margin victories.
3 > Texas A&M Int'l was preseason picked 12th in the LSC Preseason Poll. They are in the South Division, which also includes Texas A&M-Kingsville, St. Edward's, St. Mary's and UT Tyler.
4 > The Dustdevils lead the LSC and rank second nationally in steals, with 112 on the season. They average 12.4 per game (14^th nationally). Nicole Heyn ranks 13^th nationally with a pace of 3.2 per game.
5 > Heyn leads TAMIU with a conference-leading 28 three-pointers on the season. TAMIU leads the LSC with 206 three-point attempts on the season.

THE SERIES AGAINST TAMIU
LCU leads the all-times series 16-1 against TAMIU. The Lady Chaps won the first five and the prior 11 series meetings. After meeting three times in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the Lady Chaps and Dustdevils only met once last season (LCU won 71-36 in Lubbock on Feb. 20, 2020). LCU is 8-0 all-time against TAMIU in Lubbock and they went 12-1 against TAMIU while the two were Heartland Conference members.

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

Allie Schulte 7gp – 10.3 pts/g, 27/43 (62.8%) fg%, 11/21 3-pt fg
Emma Middleton 7gp – 8.9 pts/g, 26/39 (66.7%) fg%, 9 blocks
Laynee Burr 4gp – 7.3 pts/g, 10/19 from field, 3/7 3-pt fg

PREVIOUS RECAP VS. TAMIU
Feb. 20, 2020 (Lubbock, Texas) - TAMIU:36 - LCU:71
No.8 Lubbock Christian University opened the contest on a 17-0 run, with Emma Middleton scoring 10 of her game-high 16 points in the run, and the Lady Chaparrals never looked back in a 71-36 Lone Star Conference victory over Texas A&M International inside Rip Griffin Center.

While TAMIU missed their first six field goal attempts over the game's opening seven minutes, LCU was 8-of-13 from the field (it included a 7-of-9 stretch) and with a 17-0 lead. Maddi Chitsey netted the opening four points before Middleton knocked down four straight inside-buckets for eight straight points. LCU had eight field goals in the 17-0 stretch, with a three-pointer from Ashton Duncan marking the only long-distance field goal of the mix. TAMIU was 1-of-9 from the field in the quarter.

LCU took a 22-7 lead into the second quarter and went into the quarter with offensive momentum. The Lady Chaps, closing the first quarter successful on their final two field goal attempts, made their opening six field goal attempts of the second quarter (combined for eight consecutively made field goals). There were five three-point field goals in the span, with three made by Caitlyn Cunyus. She had a trio in succession, with one followed by Laynee Burr to create a 12-0 run for a 38-12 lead halfway through the second quarter.

The Lady Chaps offense went stagnant the remainder of the second quarter. They did not have a field goal the final 5:01 of the first half. TAMIU closed the half on an 8-0 run to place LCU's halftime lead at 38-20. Despite missing their final five shot attempts of the half, LCU had a 55.2% (16/29) shooting mark in the first half.

Middleton opened the second half with a pair of layups and had the first four points of a 16-0 LCU run. Allie Schulte had seven points during the run, as they had a stretch during the run in which they were 8-of-9 from the field.

LCU went the final 4:09 of the third quarter without a field goal and went a 15-shot stretch in which they were 2-of-15 from the field. The dry spell did not play a factor, as free-throws by Savannah Sumrall placed LCU's lead at the game's largest at 38 (67-29 with 6:04 remaining).

The Lady Chaps were 50.9% (29/57) from the field, marking the fifth time they have finished over 50% shooting over their last six games. Middleton was 8-of-11 from the field in her 16-point performance. She was joined in double figures by Caitlyn Cunyus and Allie Schulte, who each had 12 points. Schulte, posting 10 points in the second half, finished the game with a plus/minus of +42 and was one of three Lady Chaps with at least a +40 in the game (Chitsey and Duncan). Chitsey recorded nine rebounds, with four on the offensive end, helping LCU to nine offensive rebounds (as a team) and an 11-2 scoring advantage in second-chance-scoring (third straight game with at least 10 points in second chance scoring). Duncan posted a career-high with a game-high six assists. LCU's sixth consecutive win places them 22-3 overall on the season and 16-3 in the LSC.

The Dustdevils, held to 25.5% shooting, were led by Clara Fernandez's 10 points. She was 4-of-5 from the field, while the rest of the team was a combined 9-of-46 (19.6%).
 
KEEP IN MIND
The Lone Star Conference announced it will use a point rating system to determine its men's and women's basketball standings this year due to COVID-19 related schedule adjustments.
 
The point rating system will replace winning percentage for the LSC's basketball conference standings, divisional standings and conference tournament seeding in 2020-21. 
 
The system assigns a numerical value to game results depending on the site and quality of the opponent. Teams will earn more points for a win on the road or at home against top competition based on conference winning percentage and receive fewer points for a win against lesser opposition. Points are also dispersed for losses, with more points awarded for a loss against stronger competition. 
 
Each week, the team ratings will be determined by taking the total points divided by league games played with the opponents winning percentage updated throughout the year.

The LSC will publish the point rating system rankings in mid-January and post weekly updates for the rest of the season.
 
The change will help offset an unbalanced league schedule and games canceled due to COVID-19.  Typically, the LSC slate includes games against all other league teams but this year is using a modified "bubble" schedule format to enhance student-athlete safety with regard to COVID-19 and reduce the amount of contact amongst teams by playing the same opponent twice during the week.
 
The conference tournament will consist of the top eight men's and women's teams with first-round games on-campus on Tuesday, March 2 followed by the four winning teams advancing to the final site at the highest remaining seed on Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6.
 
LSC POINT RATING SYSTEM
Points shall be awarded for each conference contest played:
7 points – win over a .750 or better team on the road
6.5 points – win over a .750 or better team at home
6 points – win over a .500 or better team on the road
5 points – win over a .500 or better team at home
4.5 points – win over a .250 or better team on the road
4 points – win over a .250 team or better at home
3.5 points – win over an under .250 team on the road
3 points – win over an under .250 team at home
2.5 points – loss at home or on the road to a .750 or better team
2 points – loss to a .500 or better team at home or on the road
1 point – loss to a .250 or better team at home or on the road
.5 points – loss to an under .250 team on the road
0 points – loss to an under .250 team at home
 
COVID AND VIEWING OPTIONS
COVID-19 regulations by LCU will have the Rip Griffin Center at 50% capacity. All home game ticket and spectator policies are subject to change on a game-by-game basis. For games allowing fans, a limited number of tickets are available (admission covers both men's and women's games on that date) to the general public on www.lcuchaps.com/tickets.
 
Each game will be broadcast on the LSC Digital Network as an option for fans unable to attend. The Lone Star Conference have a new hybrid pricing model for the LSC Digital Network this season. The broadcasts of volleyball and men's and women's basketball games will be available via pay-per-view (PPV) conference-wide under the new model. Fans can purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all LSC football, volleyball and basketball contests on the network that day, as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2020-21 season for $10 each. Select games of all other sports carried on the LSC Digital Network will be available free-to-view (FTV) or PPV at the discretion of the broadcasting institution. The LSC Digital Network is in its second year showcasing the academic and athletic events of the league and its 18 member institutions. Fans can watch games and purchase passes online at  www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com or www.lcuchaps.com/live on computer and mobile devices. Viewers can also tune in to games on the LSC Digital Network via OTT apps available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku by searching for "LSC Digital Network."