D2CCA TIPOFF CLASSIC
No.17 UNION (0-0) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0)
Nov. 3, 2023 • 5:00 PM
Lubbock, Texas • Rip Griffin Center (1,950)
 

D2CCA TIPOFF CLASSIC
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
Union (Tenn.)	Lubbock, Texas	Fri. Nov. 3	5 p.m.	Video	Stats

  
HOME FOR STARTERS
The 21st season in Steve Gomez's history at Lubbock Christian University opens Friday at home, as LCU serves host of the D2CCA TipOff Classic. They face Union (Tenn.) Friday (5 p.m.) and Adams State Sunday (5 p.m.) inside Rip Griffin Center. The classic/tournament is the first of three LCU will participate in during the regular season (their first six regular season games are part of classics). LCU is opening the season at home for the first time since the 2020-21 COVID season.

OOPS, IT HAPPENED AGAIN
The Lady Chaparrals are coming off a 24-11 season from 2022-23. LCU went 16-6 in LSC play and were the West Division co-champions en route to a NCAA South Central Regional for the seventh time in program history, but a 67-64 double-overtime loss in the regional championship game to UT Tyler marked their second regional loss in program history (both have been in the regional championship game over the past two seasons). Highlights of last season included a 62-55 win over No.10 Texas Woman's at the regional (one week after falling 84-49 to TWU at the LSC Championships) and a 66-50 regional win over Black Hills State to mark Gomez's 500^th career coaching victory.

WHO RETURNS
LCU is set to have all five starters from last season's NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship Game back for the 2023-24 season, led by Co-Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year Grace Foster. The junior All-America selection from Childress, Texas averaged 16.4 points a game and posted a program single-season record 311 rebounds. Starters Maci Maddox, a Regional All-Tournament Team selection, and Audrey Robertson join Foster, placing LCU with a trio of returning All-Conference selections on the roster. Completing the LCU list of returning starters for LCU is sophomore Martie McCoy and senior Shaylee Stovall.
 
Returners adding depth to LCU include sisters Deja Johnson and Tia Johnson, Reese Schumann, Audrey Spurgin and Taylor Thomas. Schumann averaged nearly 16 minutes per game and led the team in blocks with 39.

WHO THEY LOST
The Lady Chaps lost three players off last season's roster. Whitney Cox remains on the squad as a student-assistant coach. In four seasons covering 86 career games, Cox averaged 2.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. She posted 40 blocks in her career and closed her LCU playing tenure averaging 4.0 points a game last season (started 14 games).
 
The Lady Chaps are also without the services of Carli Bostwick and Rachel Haase, who each completed two seasons with the Lady Chaps. Bostwick started two games last season and averaged 3.3 points per contest, and Haase averaged 4.2 points per game and appeared in 33 of LCU's 35 games.

NEW FACES
Four new additions will look to contribute to this season's success, and all are incoming true freshmen. Taylor Allen, Kennedy Chappell, Kimber Mathews and Rylee Verduin are the new additions aiming for an impactful first season at the college level.
 
Allen is a guard from Roscoe, Texas, who attended Highland High School (same school former Lady Chap Callie Sandusky attended). She was a four-year All-State selection for the Lady Hornets and claimed numerous Abilene Reporter-News associated honors. Highland had many deep playoff pushes with Allen on the squad, with her final game ending the Region-I 1A Regionals with an overtime loss to Veribest.  The senior season success led to Allen claiming MVP honors in the FCA All-Star Game in Brownwood, Texas, and she was also selected to All-Star Teams sanctioned by the TABC and TSMCA (Texas Six-Man Coaches Association). Allen also competed in track & field.
 
Chappell comes to LCU after graduating from Dallas Christian High School (Mesquite, Texas). The guard from Heath, Texas closed out her high school career claiming back-to-back TAPPS 4A state championship titles at DCHS. Chappell had a steady career at DCHS, which included average point production of 11.5 points per game as a sophomore, 15.2 as a junior and 15.5 her senior season en route to claiming over 1,000 points in her career. The District MVP also claimed numerous TAPPS Academic, All-District, All-State and All-State Tournament Team accolades. She was also an All-District softball selection for the Chargers.
 
Mathews is a shooting guard joining the Lady Chaps from Gruver, Texas. Gruver High School claimed a pair of state titles while Mathews attended there, as she played an active role her junior year leading the squad to a perfect 25-0 2021-22 UIL Class 2A state championship (defeated Stamford in the title game) season. Her sister, Kari, is currently a member of the LCU cheer team and was part of Gruver's 2019-20 state title winning team Kimber's freshman season. The Greyhounds made a return trip to the state tournament Kimber's senior season (2022-23), but the Greyhounds fell to Lipan despite a team-leading 14 points from Mathews (claimed All-Tournament Team honors). Her senior season success led to TABC and TGCA All-State accolades. Press Pass Sports and Globe News have each included Mathews with numerous local honors. Mathews also competed in track & field and was part of two state qualifying teams.
 
Verduin is a Wylie, Texas native and a 6-2 forward adding inside depth to the Lady Chaps. She homeschooled and competed for the Dallas Thunder Homeschool Basketball program, where she was part of two national championship squads. In 2021-22, the Thunder claimed the NCHBC Undisputed HomeSchool Basketball Girls 18 & Under National Championship in Springfield, Mo. In the process, Verduin claimed NCHBC All-Big South Region honors. She received various NCHBC accolades prior to high school, being named the National 12u Post Player of the Year in 2016-17, Middle School Post Player of the Year in 2019 and 14u National Player of the Year in 2018-19.

NATIONALLY KNOWN (OR UNKNOWN)
Despite returning five starters from a regional-finalist squad, which also shared a divisional title, LCU has not garnered the attention of voters. 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 D2SIDA Preseason Poll, but the D2SIDA Preseason Poll has not been announced yet (expected later this week).

SO ARE SOME OTHERS
LCU will face a nationally ranked program Friday, facing No.17 Union (Tenn.). 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.

SEASON OPENERS
LCU is probably more known for how they finish the season, than how they begin the season. The Lady Chaps are 9-7 over their last 16 season openers. LCU opened last season with a 65-64 loss to No.6 Missouri Southern (Nov. 5, 2022 in Kansas City, Mo.). LCU is 29-15 all-time and 13-7 under head coach Steve Gomez in openers. For a second consecutive season, LCU opens the campaign against a nationally ranked foe. Prior to last season (against Missouri Southern), the 2017-18 season opener in Commerce, Texas marked LCU's last season opener that was against a national ranked opponent (LCU topped No.5 CSU-Pueblo 57-52).
 
SWEET HOME (ON) CHICAGO
The Lady Chaps have won their home openers the prior 11 seasons. Their last home opening loss was a 61-44 loss to Metro State on Nov. 5, 2011. LCU is 19-1 all-time in home openers under Steve Gomez.
 
LCU went 12-2 at home last season, going 5-0 at home in non-conference play.
 
On Feb. 2, 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 11-1 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 266-47 record (85.0%) in that span. In NCAA postseason play, the Lady Chaps are 24-3 all-time (88.9%).

FIVE THINGS ABOUT UNION
1 > The Bulldogs are coming off 27-4 season in 2022-23, as they were Gulf South Conference regular season co-champions with a 21-3 conference record. They won the GSC Tournament to earn an automatic berth to Tampa, Fla. and the NCAA South Regional, where they fell to No.2-seed Eckerd College in the second round (regional semifinal).
2 > UU is playing their first eight games away from home to start off the 2023-24 season. Awaiting the Bulldogs after Lubbock is a trip to Puerto Rico for a pair of games against Puerto Rico based Division II programs.
3 > Union received nine of the 12 first-place votes to be ranked as the Gulf South Conference favorite in the GSC Preseason Top-25 Poll. Since joining the GSC in the 2012-13 season, Union has now been ranked as the GSC favorite eight times (three seasons consecutively).
4 > Shanique Leucas was named to the GSC Preseason Team. Lucas earned Preseason All-GSC, First Team All-GSC, GSC All-Tournament, GSC Tournament MVP and was a D2CCA All-South Region selection last season. She averaged 15.26 points, 4.55 rebounds and 2.58 assists per game, while collecting 84 steals. In the classroom last season, she earned GSC Honor Roll, GSC All-Academic, and CSC All-Academic accolades.
5 > Union, who went 3-1 last season in neutral site play, has won 41 consecutive season openers. They have only lost two season openers and both have been to Ole Miss, with the  1981-82 season opener marking the last time (62-57).
 
THE SERIES AGAINST UNION
LCU is 0-2 all-time against Union, with the prior two meetings occurring at the NAIA National Championships, which was played at Oman Arena in Union's home city: Jackson, Tenn. Union won the previous two meetings, winning 77-55 on Mar. 16, 2005 and 79-62 on Mar. 21, 2006 in the NAIA National Championship Game.

PRIOR MEETING VS. UNION
Jackson, Tenn. (March 21, 2006) - Union University captured their second-consecutive National Championship with a 79-62 victory over No.6-seeded LCU at the 26th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship at Oman Arena.
 
The victory extended Union's tournament win streak to 10 games, dating back to a 77-55 victory over LCU to open tournament play in 2005 on their way to their first championship, a championship that was a little less easy to enjoy than this year for Union head coach Mark Campbell.
 
"I definitely enjoyed the last four minutes of the game [this year] better. Last year I was to nervous during the final minutes," said Campbell, whose team led by as many as 26, 77-55, with four and a half to play.
 
Lubbock Christian, entered the tournament as one of the six seeds, knocking off two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed, and a No. 3 seed on their way to their first ever title game and becoming the lowest seeded team to ever reach an NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Final. Union marked their fifth trip to the final game (1993, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006), winning each of their last three trips.
 
The Lady Bulldogs posted a 14-4 run in the final seven minutes of the first half to pull away from what had been a closely contested game and take a 41-30 lead into halftime. The lead grew to as many as 15 early in the second half and then up to the 77-55 lead. Campbell cleared his bench in the final minutes to allow everyone to taste some time on the floor in a championship win, as Lubbock cut the final deficit to 17 points.
 
"They are a team of runs, and we knew that coming in," said Lubbock Christian head coach Steve Gomez. "We just weren't consistent enough to pull out of it."
 
At the start of the game, a very aggressive Lubbock Christian team jumped out to a quick 13-7 lead over Union, forcing the Lady Bulldogs to call a timeout with 15:33 left in the first half. Union responded with an 11-4 run to regain the lead at 18-17 with 12:28 left in the first half on a basket by Josephine Owino. Over the next few minutes, both team swapped baskets until the 7:41 mark in the first half when the Union runs allowed them to begin pulling away. The first half saw Union continue their masterful tournament shooting form behind the arc as they shot 63 percent (5-8), but it was the 12 first half points by freshman center Owino that help get Union the 11-point cushion at the break. The Lady Bulldogs were led by freshman Josephine Owino who posted her second straight double-double of the tournament with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Natanya Smith added 16 points and 14 rebounds in a rare two post player lineup for Union. Ena Daniels added 10 points in the game.
 
In a tournament where Union's three-point shooting (43 percent) was so prevalent, it was Owino and Smith's combined 40 points and 24 rebounds in the post that sealed Union's second straight NAIA crown in this title game.
 
"We go with two posts when we have two to match up against. I thought they really did a good job down there. We've never had a game where both [Owino and Smith] did what they did tonight in the same game," said Campbell.
 
Lubbock Christian was led by freshman Sierra Wilcox with 19 points and nine rebounds. Casie Legg added 14 points and Ashley Hunter tallied 10 points. Lubbock Christian made 41 percent (7-17) from behind the arc but shot just 36 from the field otherwise. Five players from the championship game were named among the NAIA All-Tournament team, as Lubbock Christian's Wilcox and Candace Clenney joined Union's Owino, Daniels, and Merideth Richardson.
 
Union finished the season with a 31-6, while Lubbock Christian closed out their Cinderella run at 23-12.