FRISCO, Texas (March 5, 2022) For the first time ever, No.10 Lubbock Christian University tasted defeat at the Lone Star Conference Championship, as they were eliminated in the Semifinals by No.1-seed West Texas A&M 63-58 Saturday inside Comerica Center despite Allie Schulte (15) and Channing Cunyus (14) combining for 29 points for the No.5-seed Lady Chaparrals. LCU will now await Sunday's NCAA Division II Selection Show at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com to find out their seeding in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

The game featured 13 lead changes and neither team had more than a four-point lead through the first three quarters. Each team opened the game with poor shooting, going 3-of-13 (23.1%) in the opening quarter from the field and the score was tied 8-8 after the first quarter.
 
For the first seven minutes of the second quarter, neither team had more than a 4-0 run. Ashton Duncan had a pair of three-pointers in the frame, and her second three-pointer of the quarter came at the horn to cap an 8-2 run, as LCU held WT without a field goal over the final 4:47 of the half and took a 25-23 halftime lead.
 
Cunyus (9), who had the first five points of LCU's 8-2 run to end the half, and Duncan (6) combined for 15 points in the half to lead LCU from the field. Lauren Taylor led all players, leading WT with 13 points at the break.
 
LCU maintained the tempo in the opening five minutes of the third quarter. Despite nearly five minutes without a field goal, LCU had a 6-2 scoring stretch to lead 31-27 with 5:39 remaining in the quarter. WT found a spark midway through the quarter, as Zam Roberts and Lauren Taylor drained three-pointers for a 6-0 run and a 33-31 WT lead. Audrey Robertson had a layup to regain the lead with 1:03 left in the quarter (37-35), but it would not last, as WT closed the quarter with a pair of field goals in the final 49 seconds of the quarter to take a 39-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Lady Buffs would turn the 4-0 run to close the third quarter into a 7-0 run, as Haylei Janssens nailed a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Janssens scored WT's first six points of the quarter, only interrupted by a Cunyus three-pointer. Allie Schulte had an and-one play to cut WT's lead to 45-43 90 seconds into the quarter, before WT built the lead to 50-43 with 6:18 left. Schulte had nine points in the quarter for LCU, but it was not enough to match Roberts' 10 points in the quarter for WT. She hit a huge three-pointer with 1:28 left to extend WT's lead to 57-50 with 1:28 left. It was enough to hold off the Lady Chaps the rest of the way.
 
Roberts and Taylor co-led WT with a game-high 18 points in the game. The two combined 5-of-10 from three-point range. The Lady Buffs improved to 22-10 on the season.
 
The Lady Chaps were led by Schulte (15 points) and Cunyus (14 points). Schulte also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. LCU had a 15-9 advantage in turnovers, but the two teams each had seven points-off-turnovers.
 
The loss for LCU (26-6) was their first-ever loss in a LSC Championship and they are now 8-1 all-time at the event. LCU drops to 7-4 all-time against West Texas A&M and it was LCU's first loss to WT in a postseason game.
 
TURNING POINT
Allie Schulte missed consecutive three-point field goal attempts during a stretch in the third quarter in which, if made, would have added to a 4-0 run, as LCU led 31-27 at the time. The attempts were during a stretch in which WT went scoreless for a two-minute span. Instead, the pair of missed long range attempts were during a sequence in which LCU missed four consecutive shot attempts and went 1-of-7 from the field and were scoreless over a three-minute stretch. So as LCU was unable to add to the four-point advantage, WT ended their dry spell with Roberts and Taylor connecting on consecutive three-point field goals.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Ashton Duncan made a pair of three-pointers, which placed her with a new career-high scoring mark for single-season three-pointers. She now has 81 three-pointers on the season, which is the second-highest single-season total by a Lady Chap from long range. Kelsey Hoppel has the single-season LCU record at 90 from the 2015-16 season.  
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show airs on NCAA.com at 9 p.m. Sunday evening. Brackets and pairings will be announced, as LCU awaits their seeding for the South Central Regional.