LAKEWOOD, Colo. (November 11, 2023) - Grace Foster scored 24 points and Maci Maddox added 20 points to lead Lubbock Christian University past the Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves 71-60 in a neutral site contest at CCU Events Center Saturday.
Foster and Maddox's stellar scoring performances led the Lady Chaps (3-1) in the contest. Foster tacked on eight rebounds and three assists and Maddox added six rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Audrey Robertson, who led the Lady Chaps with a +20 plus/minus, also helped out with 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Sunday against Adams State, Grace Foster set the Rip Griffin Center record with 13 free-throws anf a 13-of-13 performance at the line (one off the program record). Saturday against The Pack, she did it again, knocking down all 13 free-throw attempts.
Lubbock Christian forced 19 Colorado State-Pueblo turnovers while committing 18 themselves in Saturday's game. The Lady Chaps turned those takeaways into 18 points on the offensive end of the floor. Maddox's five steals led the way for Lubbock Christian.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 5-2 advantage, Lubbock Christian went on a 5-0 run with 5:55 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from MacI Maddox, to increase its lead to 10-2. The Lady Chaps then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 19-10 advantage. Lubbock Christian capitalized on 12 Colorado State-Pueblo turnovers in the period, turning them into 10 points on the other end of the floor (10-4 scoring advantage in the frame in points-off-turnovers). Robertson and Foster co-led LCU with seven points each and combined for 14 of LCU's 19 points in the quarter.
Lubbock Christian kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 6-0 run starting at the 2:08 mark in the second period, highlighted by a bucket from Robertson, to increase its lead to 40-25. The ThunderWolves cut into that lead, but the Lady Chaps still enjoyed a 40-27 advantage heading into halftime behind six points in the quarter from Maddox and 11 points in the half from Robertson. CSU Pueblo received 12 points off the bench in the half from Leilani Love.
LCU wasted no time building on its lead in the second half, going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Foster, to expand its lead further to 46-27 with 6:38 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, The Pack had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Lady Chaps still entered the fourth quarter with a 57-43 edge. Lubbock Christian turned six offensive rebounds into four second-chance points on the way to scoring 17 total points in the quarter. Maddox led LCU in the quarter with seven points, with Foster adding six points in the frame.
Love fueled a CSU Pueblo comeback bid in the fourth quarter, as they trimmed a 17-point deficit down to nine (69-60 with 2:06 remaining), but it was as close as they would get. LCU, held to three field goals in the final quarter, had seven points from the free-throw line and nine points from Foster to hold off The Pack.
Game Notes
» The Lady Chaps held the ThunderWolves to only 35.5 percent shooting from the field, while shooting 44.0% (22/50) from the field. LCU's perimeter defense held CSUP to an 11.1% (2/18) shooting mark from outside.
» The Lady Chaps never trailed in the contest, as they opened the game on a 5-0 run. It marked their first game this season in which they never trailed. They led for 39:31 of the game.
» Grace Foster (24), Maci Maddox (20), and Audrey Robertson (13) combined to account for 80 percent of the Lady Chaps points. Foster's 24-point performance was the 16th game in her career to tally at least 20 points (second this season).
» Foster was 13-of-13 from the free-throw line, matching the second time she has done it this season. The two marks are one off Nicole Hampton's 14-of-14 school-record performance on Jan. 14, 2016 (at Newman). The performance at the line for Foster marked her sixth game in which she was perfect from the line with six-or-more consecutive shots made. She is now 35-of-39 (89.7%) on the season and averaging 8.8 points per game from the line.
» The Lubbock Christian defense forced 19 turnovers. LCU has forced at least 17 turnovers in all four games this season.
» Grace Foster led the Lady Chaps with 24 points and Maci Maddox added 20.
» Lubbock Christian got a game-high eight rebounds from both Audrey Robertson and Grace Foster.
» LCU went 23-of-26 (88.5%) from the free-throw line, which improves their season mark to 83.5% on the young season. LCU has scored at least 20 points from the free-throw line in all four games this season. The last time LCU scored at least 20 points from the free-throw line in four consecutive games was Feb. 18 – Mar.23, 2017.
» The contest was LCU's first neutral site contest of the season and they open 1-0 in neutral site contests.
» The Lady Chaps improved to 9-5 all-time against CSU Pueblo (also formerly known as Southern Colorado). LCU has won three straight meetings and six of the last seven encounters.
What's Next
LCU returns home to host the Food King Classic inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU will host Southwestern Oklahoma State Friday (6 p.m.) and King (Tenn.) Saturday (7:30 p.m.).
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
