NON-CONFERENCE
No.18 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (5-1) at No.12 SOUTHERN NAZARENE (5-0)
Nov. 25, 2023 • 1 PM
Bethany, Okla. • Sawyer Center (5,000)
 

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
No.12 SNU	Bethany Okla.	Sat. Nov. 24	1 p.m.	Video	Stats

GAME NOTES (PDF)

HIT THE SNU-ZE BUTTON
No.18 Lubbock Christian University cruises into Bethany, Okla. Saturday for a 1 p.m. non-conference battle against No.12 Southern Nazarene. The contest is LCU's final Lone Star Conference tune-up, as they follow with LSC play at Oklahoma Christian Nov. 30. LCU is taking a five-game win streak into Saturday's tilt.
 
ROYALTY
The Lady Chaparrals are coming off an 82-42 win Saturday at home over King (Tenn.), which was part of the Food King Classic LCU hosted inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU went 2-0 in the Food King Classic, which also included a 61-54 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Maci Maddox led LCU in the event with an average of 14.5 points per game. LCU shot 53.1% from the field in the combined two games, shooting 48% (12/25) from three-point range. Along with Maddox's offensive production, LCU also received 11.0 points per game from Audrey Robertson and 9.5 points per game from Grace Foster (averaged 7.0 rebounds). Defensively, LCU held their opponents to 31.1% shooting and have forced 18.5 turnovers per game.
 
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 83.1% of their attempts (113/136, which is ninth nationally) and averaging 18.8 points a game from the line (12^th nationally). 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 on Nov. 12 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, sixth in the LSC), which is second on the squad (of qualifiers) behind Shaylee Stovall, who is 13-of-14 (92.9%, fifth in the LSC).

> The Lady Chaps have three players in the top-25 in LSC scoring so far this season. Foster is averaging 16.0 points per game, which has her eighth in the LSC. Maci Maddox, coming off a 14-point performance Saturday, is ranking 11th in the LSC with 15.2 points per game and Audrey Robertson ranks 22^nd with a pace of 11.5 points per game. The trio are also in top-15 in minutes played, with Maddox leading the conference (24th in the nation) with 37.0 minutes played per game (Foster is ninth in LSC at 31.2 and Robertson is 15th in LSC at 29.8 minutes per game). Maddox is seventh in the LSC with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.4.

> Foster is averaging 7.2 rebounds per game (10th in the LSC), but is third in the LSC averaging 6.8 defensive rebounds per game (43^rd nationally). She led the LSC last season with a pace of 7.5 defensive rebounds per game.
 
> Maci Maddox is 16th nationally in steals with 15 on the season (second in LSC) and ranks seventh in the LSC with a pace of 2.5 steals per game. She has at least one steal in all six games to open the season and has steals in nine consecutive games (dating back to last season). Maddox opened last season with at least one steal in the first 11 games.
 
> LCU has four new additions on the roster this season (all are freshmen) and three have made their LCU debut, through the first six games. Kennedy Chappell has made the biggest impact, appearing in all six games and averaging 4.8 points a game. Taylor Allen and Kimber Mathews made their debut against King, with Allen posting nine points and Mathews supplying five points.
 
> Against King, Lubbock Christian's bench made an impact by scoring 44 points to its scoring output. All 13 players dressed saw action, with no player playing more than 20:55 (Maddox) and all players playing at least 10:59.
 
> LCU has shot at least 50% from the field in three of their six games this season, including the latest two. As a team, LCU ranks second in the LSC and 15^th nationally with a 47.8% shooting percentage from the field. LCU leads the LSC and is 31^st in three-point shooting, as they are 29-of-76 (38.2%) from long range.
 
MILESTONE
Grace Foster enters Saturday 72 points shy of 1,000 career points. The last Lady Chaps member to reach 1,000 career points is Ashton Duncan, who hit the mark Feb. 17, 2022 against Eastern New Mexico.

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 received Top-25 votes in the WBCA Preseason Poll, but it is their first time they did not make 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 also received votes in the D2CSC Top-25 Preseason Poll. The WBCA has LCU receiving votes in their first in-season Top-25 national poll, but D2CSC released their second in-season rankings this week and LCU has oved up to No.18 from their season debut (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. Southern Nazarene, receiving votes in the WBCA Top-25 poll, is ranked No.12 in the D2CSC poll.

ROAD REVELATIONS
The Lady Chaparrals, who went 8-4 on the road last season, is off to a 1-0 road record this season. They edged Colorado Christian 67-62 in overtime in Lakewood, Colo. On Nov. 10 in their first road contest of the season. The Lady Chaps have won their last six regular season on-conference road games, which a streak that has spanned since falling at Cameron on Dec. 8, 2019 (LCU was a Heartland Conference member that season). Audrey Robertson leads LCU in road scoring with 16 points. She co-leads the squad with Maci Maddox an Grace Foster, as they each average 6.0 rebounds on the road.

SWEET HOME (ON) CHICAGO
The Lady Chaps, who went 12-2 at home last season, are 3-1 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 271-47 record (85.2%) in that span. In NCAA postseason play, the Lady Chaps are 24-3 all-time (88.9%).

FIVE THINGS ABOUT SNU
1 > The Bethany, Okla. based Crimson Storm posted a 27-5 mark last season (21-1 in Great American Conference to win the conference regular season title). SNU won the GAC postseason tournament and claimed the No.8-seed at the NCAA Division II Central Regional, where they lost at No.1-seed and host Minnesota-Duluth.
2 > SNU are off to a 5-0 start to the season after topping Missouri Southern State at home (73-52) Tuesday. They are 2-0 at home and have won their last 14 home contests (Feb. 26, 2022 vs. Southwestern Okla. State was their last home loss).  
3 > The Crimson Storm are picked to win the GAC this season, as they took the top spot (of 12) in the conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll (received seven of the 12 first-place votes).
4 > SNU returns Defensive Player of the Year and GAC Tournament MVP Hannah Giddey, who led the nation in blocks per game while adding 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season. She shot a league-leading 57.1 percent from the floor. Giddey ranks 10^th this season with an average of 4.4 blocks per game and is 22^nd nationally with 10.8 boards per game.
5 > Lauryn Reither has been a threat on both ends of the court for SNU, as she leads the team with 18.0 points a game and 3.2 steals per game. She is averaging 20 points over the past two games.

THE SERIES AGAINST SNU
SNU leads the all-time series 35-14, which dates back to the 1993 season. The two squads last met on Nov. 29, 2019, with LCU claiming a 56-47 win over SNU in San Antonio, Texas.  Prior to that meeting, LCU had met SNU once since Mar. 2, 2012, which was their last season in which the two squads were conference foes in the NAIA's Sooner Athletic Conference. The last time LCU played at SNU's Sawyer Center was December 31, 2011 (New Year's Eve), with LCU (then No.17) claiming an 81-64 win over No.15 SNU behind a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double performance behind Emily Atkins (now Emily Pool). LCU has won eight of the prior 10 meetings against SNU and are 12-12 all-time under Gomez against SNU.
 
ACTIVE LADY CHAP LEADERS VS. SNU
No current rostered Lady Chaps have ever appeared in a prior game against SNU
 
PREVIOUS RECAP VS. SNU
Nov. 29, 2019 (San Antonio, Texas) – LCU:56 - SNU:47
Maddi Chitsey surpassed 1,000 career points as a Lady Chaparral and Allie Schulte notched 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds to help No.1 Lubbock Christian University overcome a 10-point deficit to defeat Southern Nazarene 56-47 in the opening game of the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic inside Bill Greehey Arena.

The contest was not easy on the eyes, as LCU, held to 28 points through three-quarters, produced a 28-point outburst in the fourth quarter and that was without a field goal in the game's final 2:52. The Lady Chaps entered the fourth quarter trailing SNU 33-28, and even fell behind 37-31, before rallying back. Caitlyn Cunyus scored her first points of the game with a three-pointer and followed with a pair of free-throws for five straight points during a 7-1 LCU run to tie the game at 38-38 with 6:13 remaining. Cunyus would connect on two more free-throws to continue what would eventually be a 17-3 LCU run. The run for LCU was capped by an Ashton Duncan three-pointer, which not only provided LCU with a 48-40 lead (2:52 remaining), but it would be LCU's final field goal of the game. LCU scored their final eight points of the game from the free-throw line to seal the victory.

Both teams struggled producing any offense throughout the game. SNU missed their opening eight field goal attempts, while LCU opened the game 1-of-7 from the field. The Crimson Storms first two field goals made were three-points by Sonia Sarda. The first three-pointer by Sarda was made 6:34 into the game and the second gave SNU a 7-6 lead, as LCU was held to two field goals the entire first quarter. SNU led 11-6 after the first quarter.

LCU had four field goals on their opening 24 attempts (16.7%) and finished the first half 5-of-25 (20%) from the field. LCU's starters were 3-of-19 (15.8%) in the first half. SNU was not much better (they were 8-of-31 (25.6%) in the first half), but they did have a 22-14 lead behind Sarda's 12 points in the first half.

The Lady Chaps offense found a bit of a pulse in the third quarter. Chitsey and Schulte made consecutive shot attempts a minute into the half (LCU's first series of successful shot attempts), but LCU would still be held to four field goals in the quarter. It progressed into a 54.5% shooting mark (6-of-11) in the fourth quarter, as LCU was 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the field in the second half. They did have a stretch a 10-of-19 (52.6%) shooting stretch during the second half, while holding SNU to a 31.0% (9-of-29) shooting mark in the second half.

SNU did receive nine points from Kennedy Gillette in the second half and all here in the third quarter. She was 3-of-4 shooting in the quarter, while the rest of the Crimson Storm were a combined 0-of-9 in the quarter. Gillette finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds in the contest. SNU finished the game 28.3% from the field. Sarda led SNU with 14 points and combined with Gillette to produce 9 of SNU's 17 field goals. SNU, entering the game third nationally in blocks per game (7.0) recorded one block in the contest.

Schulte, with eight points in the fourth quarter and 12 in the half, led LCU with 14 points. She was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. She becomes the eight Lady Chap to be perfect from the line with at least eight attempts since Nicole Hampton went 14-of-14 on Jan. 16, 2014 (no one has been 9-of-9 or better since Hampton's mark). LCU went 18-of-20 (90%) from the free-throw line in the second half and made their last 13 free-throw attempts (13-of-13 in the fourth quarter). A big positive for the Lady Chaps, who were 8-of-15 (53.3%) before the 13 straight makes from the line. LCU outscored SNU 21-7 at the line.

Chitsey, LCU's only other player in double figures (12 points), entered the game with 998 career points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in the opening quarter. LCU's last player to hit the 1,000-point mark was Olivia Robertson in March of last season. Chitsey also finished with a plus/minus of +18. Caitlyn Cunyus and Schulte each had career marks with nine rebounds, with Cunyus notching the mark for the second time in a three-game stretch. Her sister Channing Cunyus was vital, scoring seven points off a 2-of-2 three-point shooting performance and notching a block in 10 minutes of work.

The Crimson Storm, who led as much as 22-12 with a minute left in the first half, led for over 25 minutes (25:07) in the contest. LCU overcame their first halftime deficit of the season and moved to 2-0 when trailing after three quarters. Their 10-point deficit to overcome was their largest of the season and it matched a 10-point deficit they faced in last season's Division II championship game win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.