FOOD KING CLASSIC
KING (Tenn.) (0-4) at No.22 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (4-1)
Nov. 18, 2023 • 7:30 PM
Lubbock, Texas • Rip Griffin Center (1,950)
 

FOOD KING CLASSIC
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
King	Lubbock, Texas	Sat. Nov. 18	7:30 p.m.	Video	Stats

THE KING AND I
Lubbock Christian University hosts the final game of the Food King Classic Saturday, as the No.22 Lady Chaparrals host King (Tenn.) for a 7:30 p.m. tip inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU enters Saturday on a four-game win streak and with a 4-1 overall record on the young season.
 
'DOG CATCHER
The Lady Chaparrals opened the Food King Classic with a 61-54 win Friday over Southwestern Oklahoma State. LCU led by 12 points in the first quarter and built the lead to its largest (14 points) in the fourth quarter, but over the course of the contest SWOSU threatened and trimmed LCU's lead to one -possession (three points). The Lady Chaps never relinquished the lead, behind the efforts of four players finishing in double figures offensively. Maci Maddox finished with 15 points to lead the LCU charge.
 
SEASON NOTES AND TRENDS
> LCU opened the season with at least 20 points from the free-throw line in their first four games this season, marking their first four-game span of 20-or-more free-throws since Feb. 18 – Mar.23, 2017. The Lady Chaps are taking advantage from the free-throw line, making 84.6% of their attempts (99/117) and averaging 21.5 points a game from the line. LCU is 36-of-40 (90%) from the line in the last two games and 35-of-37 (94.6%) from the line in their last two home games. Grace Foster has gone 13-of-13 from the free-throw line twice this season and enters Saturday with an active streak of 22 consecutive made free-throws. Each of the 13-made free-throw performances involve the most free-throws made in a game (13) since Nicole Hampton had 15 on Jan. 14, 2016 (third-most since 2008). Foster had 13 on Nov. 5 against Adams State at home, which set a Rip Griffin Center record. Foster's 13-of-13 marks are each one off Hampton's 14-of-14 school-record performance on Jan. 14, 2016 (at Newman). Fosters 13-of-13 on Nov.5 did mark a new Rip Griffin Center record previously held by Laynee Burr, who was 12-of-12 on Feb. 4, 2022 (against Midwestern State). The performance at the line for Foster Saturday against CSU Pueblo marked her sixth game in which she was perfect from the line with six-or-more consecutive shots made. Foster is 39-of-43 on the season (.907, ninth in the LSC), which is second on the squad (of qualifiers) behind Shaylee Stovall, who is 13-of-14 (92.9%, seventh in the LSC).

> The Lady Chaps have three players in the top-25 in LSC scoring so far this season. Foster is averaging 17.4 points per game, which has her eighth in the LSC. Maci Maddox, coming off a 15-point performance Friday, is ranking 11th in the LSC with 15.4 points per game and Audrey Robertson ranks 22^nd with a pace of 12.2 points per game. The trio are also in top-seven in minutes played, with Maddox leading the conference (second in the nation) with 40.2 minutes played per game (Foster is third in LSC at 34.0 and Robertson is seventh in LSC at 32.8 minutes per game). Maddox is sixth in the LSC with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.4.

> Foster is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game (12th in the LSC), but is third in the LSC averaging 7.2 defensive rebounds per game. She led the LSC last season with a pace of 7.5 defensive rebounds per game.
 
> Maci Maddox is fourth nationally in steals with 14 on the season (leads LSC) and ranks sixth in the LSC with a pace of 2.8 steals per game. She is averaging 3.3 per game over the prior four games.
 
> LCU has four new additions on the roster this season (all are freshmen) and the only one that has made their LCU debut, through the first fivegames, has been Kennedy Chappell. In five games, Chappell is averaging 5.0 points per game and has earned her way to the charity stripe, where she is 11-of-15 on the season. She posted her first double-digit point outing Friday at Colorado Christian, scoring 10 points.

MILESTONE
Grace Foster enters Saturday 81 points shy of 1,000 career points. The last Lady Chaos member to reach 1,000 career points is Ashton Duncan, who hit the mark Feb. 17, 2022 against Eastern New Mexico.
 
, with the lone defensive honor claimed by Reese Schumann on Jan. 16, 2023.

NATIONALLY KNOWN (OR UNKNOWN)
Despite returning five starters from a regional-finalist squad, which also shared a divisional title, LCU did not garner the attention of voters in the preseason. This season, LCU is receiving Top-25 votes in the WBCA Preseason Poll, but it is their first time they are not in the Top-25 for a WBCA preseason poll since the start of the 2017-18 season (second time not in a WBCA Preseason Poll since becoming eligible for the poll in 2015-16… WBCA did not conduct a preseason poll in 2020-21 due to COVID). Also, since joining NCAA Division II (2015-16 was their first postseason eligible season), the Lady Chaps have appeared in every D2CSC Preseason Poll until this season, as they are also receiving votes in the D2CSC Top-25 Preseason Poll. The WBCA has not produced an in-season Top-25 national poll, but D2CSC released their first in-season rankings this week and LCU has made their season debut at No.22.

SO ARE SOME OTHERS
LCU fell to No.17 Union (Tenn.) Friday, placing them with a 0-1 record this season against nationally ranked programs. LCU went 6-0 against nationally ranked programs in 2020-21, 3-2 in 2021-22 (opened 3-0) and 2-5 last season against Top-25 competition.

OH, HOME
LCU is 2-1 at home this season. Grace Foster is leading LCU with 18.0 points per game on the home floor (also averaging 8.0 rebounds). The Lady Chaps, shooting 47.9% from the field inside "The Rip," are also receiving averages of 15.0 points a game from Maci Maddox and 10.7 points per game from Audrey Robertson. LCU is 55-of-65 from the free-throw line (84.6%) at home this season, with Shaylee Stovall 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.

SWEET HOME (ON) CHICAGO
The Lady Chaps, who went 12-2 at home last season, are 2-1 this season at home. On Feb. 2, 2023, the NCAA Division II record home win streak came to a close, as LCU fell to Angelo State, which ended the record win streak at 113. The loss was LCU's first at home since Jan. 1, 2015 against Oklahoma City University. LCU, who also had a 7-0 mark in NCAA postseason play in Lubbock in the mix (not including a 4-0 mark in LSC postseason play), had also won 88 consecutive home conference games (their last conference home loss occurred Jan. 10, 2013 against Oklahoma City). They completed a 49-0 all-time mark in Heartland Conference home games (they are 35-1 in LSC home games). LCU also went 11-0 during their 113-game home win streak against nationally ranked programs.

NCAA DIVISION II'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS
113 - Lubbock Christian Jan. 1, 2015 - Feb. 2, 2023
87 - Neb. Kearney Jan. 31, 1995-Nov. 24, 2001
85 - West Tex. A&M Jan. 9, 1987-Dec. 6, 1991

EYE-OPENING
The 2023-24 season marks LCU's 11th since leaving the NAIA and LCU is 270-47 record (85.2%) in that span. In NCAA postseason play, the Lady Chaps are 24-3 all-time (88.9%).

FIVE THINGS ABOUT KING
1 > The Bristol, Tenn. based Tornado posted a 9-21 mark last season (8-12 in Conference Carolinas play to finish ninth in conference). They went 2-15 in road contests.
2 > King is on their first adventure away from home this season. After dropping a trio of home games (0-3), the Tornado opened their week Friday falling 95-52 to UT Permian Basin in Lubbock, which has them entering Saturday's contest with an 0-4 record.  
3 > The Tornado are picked to finish 10th in Conference Carolinas play, as they took the 10th spot (of 14) in the conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
4 > Brianna Dunbar, Le'Aije Ellington and Ashley Allen are listed as Conference Carolinas Players to Watch representing King. Allen leads the squad averaging 7.5 points per game and is fifth in the conference with 9.3 rebounds a game.
5 > King enters the week ranking 22^nd nationally and second in Conference Carolinas in blocks per game with a pace of 4.8 per game. Four different Tornado players have at least two on the season, with Torey Walker leading all players with seven (second in the conference).

THE SERIES AGAINST KING
LCU has a lengthy history of playing Tennessee based programs (hosted Jackson, Tenn. based Union in their season opener), but LCU has never faced King or any other Conference Carolina member.