LUBBOCK, Texas (November 27, 2022) – No.16 Lubbock Christian University overcame a halftime deficit, holding Western Colorado to three field goals in the second half, and surged to a 51-38 victory Sunday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU's fourth consecutive win marked their 107^th consecutive home victory, which actively leads NCAA women's basketball.
 
LCU got off to a slow start, connecting on one of their first six field goals. Meanwhile, Rachel Cockman and Emmery Wagstaff generated all the offense for the Mountaineers. They each had six points in the first quarter and had WCU leading 12-6 before LCU closed the final 3:15 of the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the WCU lead to 12-11. A Whitney Cox layup turned it into a 7-0 run for the Lady Chaps and they had their first lead of the game. It did not last long, as Wagstaff (11 points) and Cockman (10 points) combined for 21 of WCU's 25 points and the Mountaineers held their lead for the final 8:52 of the first half for a 25-24 lead despite six points in the half from Maci Maddox. Maddox finished with 10 points in the half off 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
 
The second half was all Lady Chaps. LCU's 4-0 run to close the first half turned into a 13-0 run, as LCU opened the second half on a 9-0 run for a 33-25 lead 5:37 into the half. Audrey Robertson had six of the points of the 9-0 run. WCS was held without a field goal for the quarter and Robertson, with nine points in the quarter, helped LCU outscore the Mountaineers in the quarter 16-6 to take a 40-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Mountaineers was unable to generate offense in the fourth quarter as well. Cockman supplied their first field goal of the half 48 seconds into the quarter, but the Mountaineers were unable to generate more than a 3-0 run in the frame. Reese Schumann had four points in the quarter, supplying a field goal during LCU's 5-0 and 4-0 run in the quarter. LCU closed the game with a Maddox jumper to match their largest lead of the game.
 
Maddox led LCU with 13 points and also matched a career high with four steals. Robertson also finished in double figures, posting 11 points and seven rebounds. Grace Foster, who had nine rebounds in the second half, finished with 12 rebounds and nine points. Foster had a game-high +13 plus/minus. The Lady Chaps won the turnover battle 20-12 and it led to a 20-3 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
 
Each team's offenses struggled in the game. LCU had the upper-hand at 32.7% (16/49), which was a season low, as they held WCU to a 26.1% (12/46) shooting mark from the field (lowest by an LCU opponent since UT Permian Basin shot 23.0% on Feb. 20, 2021).
 
WCU received a game-high 18 points from Cockman, who also added eight points, and Wagstaff finished with 11 points and eight boards. The two accounted for 76.3% of the Mountaineers offense.  
 
The meeting was the third all-time meeting between the two programs and the first in Lubbock. LCU improved to 3-0 all-time against WCU, and the meeting was the first since Steve Gomez's first season at LCU (Nov. 22, 2003).
 
TURNING POINT
LCU was able to rally as WCU went a span of 11:52 without a field goal, as they went the entire third quarter without a field goal. They went the final 1:04 of the first half without scoring and had a free-throw with 3:21 to go in the third quarter to mark a scoreless span of 7:43. LCU outscored the Mountaineers 13-0 in the span and also outscored WCU 17-1 before the Mountaineers scored their following point.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The two teams combined for 24 free-throws in the third quarter. LCU was 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the line (Grace Foster and Audrey Robertson each had four points from the line in the quarter) and WCU was 6-of-8 from the line. LCU outscored WCU 16-11 from the line overall in the game.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU opens Lone Star Conference play Thursday hosting Oklahoma Christian at 5:30 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center.