No.1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (11-0, 9-0, 3-0) at TEXAS-PERMIAN BASIN (5-9, 4-9, 0-2) February 19, 2021 • 3:00 p.m. Odessa, Texas • UTPB Gym / Falcon Dome (1,000) 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.") LCU Social Media:
	TEXAS - PERMIAN BASIN FALCONS (5-9, 4-9, 0-2) Location: Odessa, Texas Conference: Lone Star Head Coach: Rae Boothe (Brenau, 2007) Roster | Stats | Preview
	LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN LADY CHAPS (11-0, 9-0, 3-0) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Lone Star Head Coach: Steve Gomez (LCU, 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes

GO WEST
If nothing changes, it will be West Division play for the remainder of the regular season for No.1 Lubbock Christian University, who is scheduled for a home-and-home Lone Star Conference West Division series this week with UT Permian Basin and next week with West Texas A&M. Their series with UTPB opens Friday in Odessa, Texas (3 p.m.) and continues Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center. Friday's game will mark LCU's first road game since Jan. 14, as their last four schedule road games were canceled.

BACK ON THE HORSE
LCU is coming off a two-game series sweep of Western New Mexico last week inside Rip Griffin Center, which included an 80-23 win on Thursday and a 75-39 win Friday. The games were LCU's first games since Jan. 27. The Lady Chaps defense held WNMU to shoot 24.5% from the field and average 31.0 points per game. Emma Middleton led LCU with 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The two games stand as LCU's only non-conference games, as WNMU's games are not counting towards conference standings.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
Lubbock Christian University's Emma Middleton swept the Lone Star Conference women's basketball weekly honors, claiming Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Emma Middleton was solid on both ends of the floor in last week's sweep of Western New Mexico. In LCU's Thursday night win over WNMU, LCU held WNMU to 17% shooting and Middleton led LCU with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes of play (produced a +39 plus minus). The senior forward from Lubbock, Texas followed with a game-high 22 points, +23 plus/minus and co-led the team in rebounds (6) Friday in another victory over the Mustangs. In the Friday win, LCU trailed after the first quarter (first time this season LCU trailed after the completion of any quarter) and Middleton exploded for 12 points in the second quarter, going 5-of-7 from the field and had five of LCU's six field goals in the quarter. Middleton combined for a +62 plus/minus on the week, along with 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. She was 12-of-22 (54.5%) from inside the arc in the two games.

The honor is Middleton's first LSC Player of the Week honor. She is the fourth Lady Chaps member this season to claim a LSC weekly honor this season. Ashton Duncan (offensive), Allie Schulte (offensive) and Juliana Robertson (defensive) have each received an honor this season, and Middleton is LCU's first recipient to win both the offensive and defensive honor on the same week. Schulte was the only player last season in the LSC to claim both the offensive and defensive honor (claimed on separate weeks).

STEALING THE SHOW
LCU enters the week ranked 13^th in steals per game (11.8). The Lady Chaps have had at least 10 steals in nine of their 11 games. Allie Schulte leads the team in steals (34) and averages 3.1 per game to lead the LSC (11^th nationally).
 
LONG DISTANCE CALLS
Despite only playing 11 games (LCU is tied for 10^th in the conference in games played), LCU ranks third in the LSC in three-point field goals (102), averaging a conference-best 9.3 average per game (12^th in the nation). They average 10.7 three-pointers per game on the road and 8.7 at home. The Lady Chaps success rate of 38.9% shooting from outside is seventh nationally. Ashton Duncan leads LCU with 34 three-pointers (49^th nationally and is second in the LSC), ranking 11^th nationally with a conference-best rate of 3.09 per game. Schulte sits just below the minimums in three-point shooting percentage, and has a mark of 57.6%, and Duncan leads the conference at 47.9%. Twelve (12) 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 second nationally in field goal percentage with a mark of 66.7%. From long range, she ranks fourth nationally with a conference-best rate of 57.6% (she was fourth nationally before falling under the minimum statistical requirements). In 11 games this season, she has two-or-less missed shots in eight of the games.

THROWING STONES
A look at upcoming milestones on the horizon for Lady Chap members:
-Allie Schulte ranks eighth nationally in Division II active players in career games played with 111.
-Is 20 assists away from 300 career assists.
-Is two steals away from 200 career steals.
-Actively ranks 29^th in career assists with 280 assists.
-Ashton Duncan needs 37 three-pointers to move into the top-5 in LCU's career three-point field goal leaders (has 151 and needs 188).

NATIONALLY KNOWN
This week marks LCU's second week as the "No.1" team in NCAA Division II women's college basketball, as both the WBCA and D2SIDA each released their weekly Top-25 Polls Tuesday with Lubbock Christian University remaining as the top team.
 
LCU last held the No.1 ranking in January of 2020, coming off the 2019 NCAA Division II national championship season. With no basketball championships held last season due to Covid-19, LCU remains as the reigning national champions. They are 11-0 this season and one of five teams in NCAA Division II that have an 10-0 record or better. Charleston (WV) and Lander are each 12-0.
 
WHEN AT HOME
LCU went 13-0 last season inside Rip Griffin Center. The Lady Chaps, who will host UTPB at home Sunday, are 8-0 this season at home and with their active home win streak sitting at 86 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 72 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 19-0 in LSC home games).
 
NCAA DIVISION II'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS
87 - Neb.-Kearney Jan. 31, 1995-Nov. 24, 2001
86 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 -->
85 - West Tex. A&M Jan. 9, 1987-Dec. 6, 1991

NCAA'S ACTIVE-LEADING HOME WIN STREAKS 
86 – LCU (Division II)
34 – North Georgia (Division II)
31 – Messiah (Division III)
30 – Minnesota Duluth (Division II)
 
MORE ON THE HOME FRONT
Ashton Duncan leads LCU at home this season, averaging 13.8 points per game. Allie Schulte (12.5) and Emma Middleton (11.8) also averages double figures at home. LCU has a 42-9 advantage in blocks at home and they have held opponents to 32.7% shooting. The Lady Chaps are shooting 49.2% on the Rip Griffin Center floor this season, with a 40.5% shooting mark from outside. Duncan is shooting 60.4% from outside at home. She is 29-of-48 at home this season from outside.
 
AND ON THE ROAD
Friday marks LCU's fourth road game of the season (3-0 in road play on the season). Allie Schulte leads LCU in road play with an average of 18.3 points per game. Emma Middleton (10.3) also averages at least 10 points on the road. LCU has a 17-2 advantage in blocks and they average 7.0 more rebounds per game on the road. Schulte is 12-of-17 (70.6) from three-point range in road contests.
 
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 ranked in the top-10 until several game postponements have them currently ranking 24th in blocks (59) and are eighth in blocks per game (5.4), leading the LSC in the per-game category. Emma Middleton (20, third in the conference and 39^th nationally), Whitney Cox (13, fifth in the LSC) and Juliana Robertson (10, 12^th in the conference) place LCU with three players in the top-12 in the LSC in blocks. Middleton also leads the LSC and 32^nd nationally with 1.82 blocks per game.
 
DISTRIBUTION
With a mark of 1.41, LCU ranks sixth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. LCU's 16.8 assists per game ranks 19th in the nation, with team leader Allie Schulte averaging 3.64 per game to lead the conference and rank fourth nationally. Juliana Robertson (2.9) and Madelyn Turner (2.5) are also averaging over 2.0 assists per game. LCU ranks ninth nationally in turnovers per game (leads the LSC) with a mark of 11.9 per game (they rank 10^th in turnovers forced and fourth in turnover margin). Last week against WNMU, LCU combined for 14 turnovers, with less than 10 turnovers in consecutive games for the first time since a pair of games in March of 2019 (against St. Edward's and Newman).
 
LAST LINE OF DEFENSE
Along with ranking 13^th nationally in steals per game, LCU's defense is holding opponents to 44.8 points per game (leads the nation). From the floor, opponents are shooting 32.2% (eighth nationally).
 
UNBLEMISHED
LCU is the only program in the South Central Region without a loss and they are one of eight programs nationally in Division II that are active and have not lost.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
The Lady Chaps have not missed more than four free-throws in a game this season, and they are 109-of-129 (84.5%) at home this season from the line. On the season, LCU ranks second nationally, shooting 83.3% from the free-throw line. Emma Middleton leads LCU at the charity stripe with an 88.9% free-throw shooting percentage (32/36), which also leads the LSC and ranks 21^st nationally.

FIVE THINGS ABOUT UTPB
1 > The Falcons are coming off an 10-18 season in 2019-20, finishing 7-15 in the Lone Star Conference and 3-7 in the division.
2 > UTPB, preseason picked 13^th in the LSC, are 5-9 this season. They are 4-9 in the LSC and are 0-2 in West Division play. They are 2-5 in home games this season and have not played at home since Jan. 30.
3 > LCU's lack-of-turnover offense will be tested, as UTPB ranks 15^th nationally and third in the conference in turnovers forced (21.9 per game).  
4 > The Falcons rank 21^st nationally and second in the LSC in offensive rebounds per game, with a mark of 15.0 per game. Alexus Quaadman ranks fifth in the LSC with a rate of 2.8 per game.
5 > Avalon Munoz, who ranks 10^th in the LSC in assist/turnover ratio (1.04), is fourth in assists with 50 on the season. Her rate of 3.6 per game is 10^th in the conference.

THE SERIES AGAINST UTPB
LCU is 23-0 all-time against the Falcons. They are 8-0 against UTPB in Odessa, where the two teams have met twice since Feb. 20, 2016, including the prior meeting which resulted in a 75-44 LCU win. LCU, who is 14-0 against UTPB in Lubbock, is also 8-0 all-time against the Falcons all-time as conference opponents (1-0 against the Falcons in conference postseason play).

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

Ashton Duncan 4gp – 12.3 pts/g, 13/25 3-pt fg,
Allie Schulte 4gp – 10.5 pts/g, 5/7 3-pt fg, 4.0 assists
Madelyn Turner 3gp – 7.7 pts/g, 3/7 3-pt fg

PREVIOUS RECAP VS. UTPB
Feb. 27, 2020 (Odessa, Texas) - UTPB:44 - LCU:75
No.6 Lubbock Christian University shot 50.9% from the field, leading to a 75-44 Lone Star Conference divisional road victory over Texas-Permian Basin, who was held to a 25.4% shooting performance.
 
UTPB, 17-of-67 from the field in the game, was able to get to 25.4% shooting due to a 40% (8-of-20) shooting performance in the fourth quarter. Prior to the fourth quarter, UTPB was 9-of-47 (19.1%) from the field. They opened the fourth quarter missing their first seven shots and were sitting at 16.7% (9-of-54) in the game, before they found a pulse and closed the game making eight of their final 13 shot attempts.
 
The 8-of-13 ending for the Falcons was off the heels of missing 16 consecutive shot attempts. The misses covered an 11-minute scoreless span. LCU closed the third quarter with a 12-0 run and opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run to combine for a 24-0 run during the Falcons scoring drought. The run turned a 41-24 LCU lead into a 65-24 advantage, as LCU was already in cruise control.
 
The Lady Chaps were balanced, shooting at least 46.7% in all four quarters, including a 53.8% (14-of-26) shooting performance in the opening half. UTPB opened the game without a field goal for nearly the opening four minutes, but LCU could only get a 4-0 advantage to start the game during the Falcon early offensive struggles. Following a Rory Carter three pointer to cut LCU's lead to 4-3, the Lady Chaps responded with an Allie Schulte three-pointer to start a 5-0 run and LCU led 9-3. Madelyn Turner would also hit a three-pointer in the quarter and scored the last five LCU points in the quarter to give the Lady Chaps an 18-10 advantage heading into the second quarter.
 
LCU's offense opened the second quarter with a trio of three-pointers. Ashton Duncan, who matched a career-high with 10 three-point attempts, nailed a pair and Caitlyn Cunyus followed with one 3:30 into the quarter for a 27-16 LCU lead. Maddi Chitsey had eight points in the half, with seven tallied in the second quarter to help LCU take a 39-22 lead into the locker room. Turner led LCU at the break with nine points.
 
UTPB had a 7-4 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers and 7-3 advantage in second-chance-scoring to keep the game within reach at the half, but then the 24-0 run helped LCU extend the lead beyond reach. Juliana Robertson had six points during the run for the Lady Chaps, and LCU's defense held UTPB to two points the entire third quarter (LCU outscored UTPB 14-2 in the third quarter).
 
LCU received offensive production from 12 of their 13 players that participated in the game. Chitsey, Duncan and Turner each finished the game with 11 points to co-lead LCU's offense. LCU had seven players finish with at least a +18 plus/minus, with Chitsey finishing with a +30 to lead LCU. Even players with less than 10 points had balanced production. Robertson was 4-of-5 from the field for eight points and also provided a team-leading six rebounds in less than 13 minutes on the floor. Schulte had six assists and four steals to go along with nine points. LCU ended up out-scoring UTPB 17-12 in points-off-turnovers in the game after having a 12-5 advantage in turnovers in the second half.
 
UTPB did out-rebound LCU after garnering 20 offensive boards in the game. Alexus Quaadman posted a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 points. She was UTPB's lone player with at least 10 points. UTPB fell to 10-17 overall, 6-14 in conference and 3-6 in division play.
 
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 has the point system in use for public viewing on the standings page located on the LSC's website.
 
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."