BETHANY, Okla. (November 25, 2023) – Lubbock Christian University rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half, with Grace Foster, Shaylee Stovall and Maci Maddox combining for 48 points in the contest, but the rally would fall short, as the Lady Chaparrals fell 67-64 at No.12 Southern Nazarene Saturday at Sawyer Center.
The Lady Chaps (5-2) had three players score in double figures, led by Foster, who had 22 points (17 in the second half) and two blocks. Stovall tacked on 14 points and two steals and Maddox helped out with 12 points, five assists and three steals.
Lubbock Christian forced 20 Southern Nazarene turnovers while committing 14 themselves in Saturday's game. The Lady Chaps turned those takeaways into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Maddox's three steals led the way for Lubbock Christian, as LCU had 10 steals as a team.
How It Happened
Lubbock Christian kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 14-13. Maddox led LCU with four points in the frame. Southern Nazarene kept adding to that lead in the second quarter, building a 20-15 advantage before Lubbock Christian went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from MacI Maddox, to tie the game at 20-20. Southern Nazarene then took control with a 10-4 run, putting the Lady Chaps at a 30-24 disadvantage heading into halftime. Lauryn Reither had 10 of her 15 points in the half tallied during the second quarter to lead SNU. Reither was 3-of-3 from long range, as she fueled a trio of SNU's four three-pointers in the first half.
Southern Nazarene continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 54-37 advantage (1:57 remaining in the third quarter) before Lubbock Christian went on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a three from Stovall, to trim its deficit to 54-42 with 46 seconds to go in the third. Foster (9 points) and Stovall (5 points) combined for 14 of LCU's 18 points in the third quarter.
Lubbock Christian stormed back in the fourth quarter and went on a 13-0 run, finished off by Audrey Robertson's layup, to shrink the deficit to 60-57 with 3:19 to go in the contest. LCU twice cut the deficit to one point in the final minute. Martie McCoy converted a layup to trail 63-62, but SNU's Hannah Giddey (sister of Oklahoma City Thunder's Josh Giddey) closed out a 16-point performance with a bucket inside with just-under 25 seconds to go. Maddox had a layup with eight seconds to go, and forced a turnover, but LCU turned the ball over on the in-bounds with three seconds remaining.
Game Notes
» The Crimson Storm connected on eight three-pointers, going 8-of-20 (40%) from long distance. They were 7-of-15 before going 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter. LCU connected on five three-pointers, with Grace Foster going 3-of-4 and Shaylee Stovall connected on 2-of-3.
» Grace Foster, Shaylee Stovall, and Maci Maddox combined to account for 75 percent of the Lady Chaps points. Foster's 22 points marked her 17th career performance of at least 20 points. Stovall finished 14 points and Maddox with 12 points.
» The Lubbock Christian defense forced 20 turnovers. LCU has forced at least 17 turnovers in all seven games this season.
» LCU entered the game averaging 22.6 free-throws per contest on the season. Saturday, they attempted only seven and went 7-of-7 from the line. Stovall (4-of-4) and Foster (3-of-3) were the only Lady Chaps to attempt a free-throw. LCU is now 83.9% from the line this season.
» Lubbock Christian got a team-leading five rebounds each from both Martie McCoy and Audrey Robertson.
» LCU is now 0-2 this season in games against nationally ranked opponents, as both of their losses this season have come against nationally ranked foes.
» LCU fell to 1-1 on the road this season. The loss was their first road loss in a non-conference contest since falling at Cameron (when LCU was in the Heartland Conference) on Dec.8, 2019.
» LCU and SNU were meeting for the 50th time all-time and for the first time since Nov. 29, 2019. The contest was the first meeting inside Sayer Center since New Years Eve December 31, 2011 when both teams were Sooner Athletic Conference foes (both were also ranked…LCU No.17 and SNU No.15). The loss places LCU with a 14-36 all-time record against SNU and it was their first loss to SNU since a 2012 Sooner Athletic Conference loss (Mar. 2, 2012) in Siloam Springs, Ark. (LCU had won the prior two meetings).
» SNU remained unbeaten on the season (6-0) and received 21 points from Lauryn Reither, 16 points from Hannah Giddey and 14 points from Emily Monaghan.
What's Next
LCU will return to Lubbock and then return to Oklahoma to open Lone Star Conference play 15 miles away (from SNU) at Oklahoma Christian Thursday (5:30 p.m.).
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
