LUBBOCK, Texas (March 6, 2021) – No.1 Lubbock Christian University, in their second year in the Lone Star Conference, won their second straight LSC Championship tournament title with a 78-57 victory over No.10 Texas A&M-Commerce (No.2-seed) to claim the automatic berth to their fifth NCAA Division II South Central Regional tournament. LCU, improving to 19-0 and extending their NCAA Division II women's basketball record home win streak to 91 wins, became the sixth program to claim multiple tournament titles in the LSC.
 
Saturday's win inside Rip Griffin Center was paced by Emma Middleton, who posted 20 points en route to Tournament MVP honors. She was able to get the Lady Chaps off to a good start, with eight points in the opening quarter. A quarter in which LCU set the tone of the game, as LCU opened the contest on an 8-0 run (six of the points from Middleton). TAMUC missed their first eight shot attempts and were held to two field goals in the opening quarter, as LCU led 17-7 through the opening 10 minutes.
 
LCU's early execution was with points in the paint, but that progressed to outside shooting with LCU hitting a trio of three-pointers during a 15-2 run, with a pair from Ashton Duncan to give LCU a 36-15 lead. The Lady Chaps shot 56% (14/25) from the field in the opening half and held TAMUC to 25% (8/32) shooting, leading to a 36-19 lead.
 
TAMUC opened the second half 1-of-12 from the field, and LCU took advantage of the missed shots with an 18-5 scoring margin over the opening 6:41 of the second half. The Lions out-scored LCU 9-5 over the final 1:41 of the quarter to cut LCU's lead to 61-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The 9-5 run turned into a 13-5 run for the Lions. Middleton tallied LCU's first points 2:21 into the quarter and it jump-started a 9-0 LCU run. A free-throw by Whitney Cox put LCU up 70-39 before the Lions closed the game on an 18-8 run, with Ravae Payne scoring seven of her team-leading 14 points during the surge.
 
LCU had a 42-24 scoring advantage in paint scoring. Along with Middleton's 20 points, Juliana Robertson had 10 points and Allie Schulte netted 14 points off 6-of-6 shooting. Her shooting success led LCU to shoot 52.7% (29/55). Schulte also had seven assists and four steals. Her seven assists helped her surpass 300 career assists.
 
TAMUC was held to 27.5% shooting in the contest (19/69). They out-rebounded 44-37, with 25 offensive rebounds, but had a narrow 11-7 scoring advantage in second-chance scoring. The loss placed them at 13-3 on the season.
 
The Lady Chaps improved to 6-0 all-time in LSC Championship tournament games. They defeated the Lions for a second consecutive season in the title game. The Lions were seeking their second tournament title and the first since 2007, which was the last time the LSC Championships was played on-campus (it had been neutral site from 2008 – 2020).
 
TURNING POINT
During LCU's 15-2 run in the second quarter, LCU went 8-of-9 from the field to build a 36-15 lead.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Three Lady Chap members claimed All-Tournament honors for the LSC Championships, highlighted by Middleton claiming MVP honors. Schulte and Caitlyn Cunyus claimed All-Tournament accolades. Middleton had 14.7 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Schulte, 15-of-19 shooting (.789) in the tournament, also had 14.7 points a game. Cunyus, who went 5-of-10 (50%) from three-point range in the tournament, averaged 11.3 points per contest.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
West Texas A&M will serve as the host of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional tournament in women's basketball, with games played inside First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. The six programs and the seedings will be announced Sunday at 9 p.m. during an online selection show, which can be viewed HERE.
 
The 2021 DII women's basketball championship will begin with the regional quarterfinals on Friday, March 12. It will continue with the semifinals on Saturday, March 13, and the regional championships on Monday, March 15.
 
Winners from those eight regions will qualify for the 2021 DII women's basketball Elite Eight, which will take place from March 23-26 at Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.