RMAC/LONE STAR CONFERENCE TIP-OFF CLASSIC No.1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-0) at COLORADO CHRISTIAN (0-0) November 12, 2021 • 2:30 p.m. (Central) Lakewood, Colo. • CCU Event Center (1,500) LIVE STATS: Click Here WATCH ONLINE: RMAC DIGITAL NETWORK Talent: N/A (Play-by-Play) LCU Social Media:
	COLORADO CHRISTIAN COUGARS (0-0) Location: Lakewood, Colo. Conference: Sunshine State (SSC) Head Coach: Diane Thompson (CSU Bakersfield, 2003) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)
	LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN LADY CHAPS (3-0) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Lone Star Head Coach: Steve Gomez (LCU, 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

GETTING CLOSER TO HOME
No.1 Lubbock Christian, with already three games under their belt (3-0), gets a step closer to home this week, as they play a pair of games in Lakewood, Colo. LCU is attending the RMAC/LSC Tip Off Classic at Colorado Christian, where they will face Colorado Christian Friday (2:30 p.m. CT) and Colorado State Pueblo (Noon CT). Metro State was typically in the rotation of teams involved with the season opening classic, but they opted out of the rotation and taking their place is Colorado Christian, as LCU, CSU Pueblo and Texas A&M-Commerce continue to fill the field of teams. This is the season opening event for all teams other than LCU, as LCU participated in the DII CCA Tip Off Classic at the Trailhead in Billings, Montana this past weekend.
 
AT THE TRAILHEAD
The defending NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Champions opened their 2021-22 campaign in Billings, Montana, taking part in the D2CCA Tip Off Classic at the Trailhead for a trio of games. LCU opened their season last Friday with a 69-55 victory over Montevallo before topping tournament host Montana State Billings 67-61 Saturday and No.11 Tampa 56-44 Sunday. The classic/tournament was the first of four LCU will participate in during the regular season. LCU opens play with their first five games on the road. Next week, LCU heads home for their first home game on Nov. 19, as LCU hosts the Lady Chap Invitational. 
 
BIG HONORS IN BIG SKY
LCU's Allie Schulte claimed All-Tournament MVP honors last week in Billings. Schulte averaged 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game in the trio of games. Her top game was a 19-point performance against Montevallo, as she was 8-of-11 from the field. Laynee Burr joined Schulte on the All-Tournament Team with averages of 11.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.  
 
WHAT WE LEARNED THE OPENING WEEKEND

• > Allie Schulte leads LCU in offense, averaging 15.0 per game. She is averaging 10.7 per game in the first half alone. She is 15-of-26 (57.7%) from the field and 6-of-12 (50%) from long range.
• > Ashton Duncan leads LCU with seven three-pointers, averaging 3.0 per game. She had 22 points against MSU Billings, scoring clutch buckets on one-possession-game offensive possessions. She is right behind Schulte, averaging 14.7 points per game.
• > LCU opened the season making their first 14 free-throw attempts and are 78.9% (30/38) from the free-throw line. Schulte is 9-of-10 (90%), leading all players who have at least five attempts on the season.
• > Juliana Robertson leads LCU in plus/minus with a +56 rating for the season, with a per-game rate of +18.7. Her time on the floor has been important, as LCU has been outscored by eight points in each game this season in which she has not been on the court. The difference is a 26.7-point difference per game from her being on the court in comparison to her being off the court.
• > Laynee Burr joins Schulte and Duncan in offensive double-figures, averaging 11.0 points per game. She is coming off a career-high 18-point performance against No.11 Tampa, as she was 6-of-10 from the field.
• > Grace Foster has been an impactful true freshman, leading the team in blocks (3) and averaging 4.0 rebounds per game. Foster was a +18 in plus/minus against Tampa, and she was 2-of-5 from three-point range en route to her first 10-point outing of her collegiate career.
• > LCU is averaging 8.7 steals per game and has a 26-13 advantage over their opponents in the category. Burr and Schulte co-lead the team with seven.
• > This past Saturday night against Montana State Billings (LCU's first true road game), LCU overcame a 12-point deficit and in the second half, they went 8-for-8 in scoring on possessions in which they had the ball with a one-possession lead (with points resulting in a two-possession lead). They were 6-of-7 from the field on shot attempts in the scenario, with the one miss resulting in an offensive rebound and eventual free throws made following a foul.
• > LCU's starting unit's (Laynee Burr, Channing Cunyus, Ashton Duncan, Allie Schulte and Juliana Robertson) opening shift production has been vital towards LCU's 3-0 start. The starting unit has averaged a span of 7:13 (prior to their first substitution) and has outscoring the opposition by an average of 8.3 points per game in the span.

 
HAY HAY HAYS
With Lubbock Christian playing at Colorado Christian this weekend, there is a coaching bond between the two universities. CCU's softball head coach is Larry Hays. Yes, the same Larry Hays that collected over 1,500 coaching wins in baseball at LCU and Texas Tech. Hays, one of the great ambassadors of LCU, served as head coach of the Lady Chaps basketball program during the 1982-83 season, coaching 17 games and going 8-9 while filling the coaching gap between David Simpson and Dave Carter.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
For the first time in program history, LCU claimed the No.1 spot in the WBCA's National Top-25 Preseason Poll, and for the first time they were the favorites in both the WBCA and D2SIDA preseason polls.
 
LCU received the No.1 ranking receiving 20 of the 22 first-place votes available in the WBCA poll. The WBCA NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, which the WBCA did not produce last season (COVID) is a poll LCU has consistently debut in each season a poll has been conducted since being eligible. Their No.1 ranking marks LCU's third consecutive preseason poll as a top-10 preseason favorite (they were preseason picked No.2 in 2019-20 and No.10 for the 2018-19 season). Along with their consecutive top-10 debuts, LCU has claimed No.11 (2016-17) and No.18 (2015-16) in their prior appearances in the poll.
 
LCU has found their way into the D2SIDA preseason poll seven consecutive seasons, marking every season they have been eligible to appear (due to the transfer from NAIA to NCAA Div. II), ranking No.1 (2019-20, 2020-21), No.3 (2018-19), No.23 (2017-18), No. 4 (2016-17), No.15 (2015-16) and receiving votes in 2014-15. The Lady Chaps received all 16 first-place votes.
 
EYE-OPENING
The 2021-22 season marks LCU's ninth since leaving the NAIA, and heading into this week's action, LCU is 217-29 in that span (88.2%). In NCAA postseason play, the Lady Chaps are 20-1 all-time.
 
SWEET HOME (ON) CHICAGO
LCU went 13-0 last season inside Rip Griffin Center. The Lady Chaps, who wrapped up home play with the LSC Championships and becoming the first team since 2007 to win the LSC Championship tournament on a campus venue, went 13-0 last season at home and with their active home win streak sitting at 91 games, which is the active and all-time leading mark in NCAA Division II women's basketball. 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 (not including a 3-0 mark in LSC postseason play), has also won 74 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 21-0 in LSC home games).
 
NCAA DIVISION II'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS
91 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
87 - Neb.-Kearney Jan. 31, 1995-Nov. 24, 2001
85 - West Tex. A&M Jan. 9, 1987-Dec. 6, 1991
 
NCAA'S ACTIVE-LEADING HOME WIN STREAKS
91 – LCU (Division II)
37 – North Georgia (Division II)
36 – Messiah (Division III)
 
FIVE THINGS ABOUT COLORADO CHRISTIAN
1 > The Cougars went 5-13 last season, with all games serving as Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests, which had them in 11^th place. They were 4-5 at home.
2 > CCU is preseason picked 10^th in the RMAC Preseason Poll.
3 > The Cougs have a new head coach this season, as Diane Thompson, a former assistant at Regis, heads CCU. Friday's meeting against LCU will mark her head coaching debut at the collegiate level.
4 > CCU has nine new players, with seven transfers in the mix. There are four Division I transfers on the Cougars roster, who open their season Friday.
5 > Lourdes Gonzalez is the one of only two seniors on the Cougars roster. She averaged 11.4 points per game and 7.3 rebounds last season.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST CCU
LCU and Colorado Christian have only met once prior, meeting at an invitational hosted by Colorado Christian on Dec. 3-4, 1993. The Lady Chaps opened with a 78-64 win over South Dakota School of Mines, but followed on Dec. 4, 1993 with a 72-55 loss to Colorado Christian in what has been the only meeting ever between the two teams.
 
PRIOR MEETING VS. CCU
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (December 4, 1993) – LCU shot 51.4% (18/35) inside the arch and received 14 points from Julie Baker, but Colorado Christian produced four players in double figures, including 15 points from Tandy Dunavin, and LCU fell 72-55 to the Cougars.
 
Carol Hise had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) for the Lady Chaps, as Baker paced the offense with 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Unfortunately for the Lady Chaps, the rest of the field was a combined 34.4% (10-of-29) from the field.