LUBBOCK, Texas (November 3, 2023) -- The Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals fell for just the second time in a home opener under head coach Steve Gomez (19-2), but it was to a squad claiming their 42nd consecutive season-opening victory, as LCU fell 87-78 to the Union (Tenn.) to open the 2023-24 season and play at the D2CCA TipOff Classic inside Rip Griffin Center Friday night.

The Lady Chaps (0-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Maci Maddox and Grace Foster, who each had 16 points. Along with her 16 points, Foster produced seven rebounds and four assists. LCU received 26 points from their bench, led by Audrey Robertson, who chipped in with 12 points and three steals.

Lubbock Christian out-rebounded Union 32-29 in Friday's game, paced by Foster's seven boards. The Lady Chaps forced 19 Union turnovers. The Lady Chaps turned those takeaways into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor. Robertson's three steals led the way for Lubbock Christian.

How It Happened

Lubbock Christian struggled out of the gate, falling behind 32-20 at the end of the first quarter despite seven different Lady Chaps figuring into the scoring.

Union kept adding to that lead, building a 42-29 advantage before Lubbock Christian went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from MacI Maddox, to narrow its deficit to 42-36. The Bulldogs responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Lady Chaps trailing 44-36 heading into halftime. Maddox produced six points in the second quarter to lead LCU with eight points at the break.

Union continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 58-38 advantage before Lubbock Christian went on a 10-0 run to trim its deficit to 58-48 with 5:05 to go in the third. The Jackson, Tenn. based squad countered and stretched its lead to 69-57 heading into the fourth. Lubbock Christian played well near the basket, scoring 12 of its 21 points in the paint. Foster had nine points in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs continued widening its lead in the fourth, constructing an 84-70 advantage before Lubbock Christian went on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 84-76 with 1:50 to go in the contest. Union responded and outscored the Lady Chaps the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 87-78. Lubbock Christian got a boost in the period from Shaylee Stovall, who led LCU with six points in the frame. Foster had 10 of her 16 points in the second half.

Game Notes

» The Lady Chaps put on a passing clinic, recording an assist on 68 percent of made baskets. Marty McCoy, Foster and Maddox each co-led LCU with four assists each.

» The Lubbock Christian bench came alive by adding 26 points to its scoring output. Audrey Robertson came off the bench to lead the bench with 12 points.

» Taylor Thomas recorded her first collegiate start. The sophomore had nine points and had LCU's best plus/minus at +8.

» Lubbock Christian lost despite a 32-29 rebounding advantage. LCU was 13-5 last season when out-rebounding the opposition. Foster led LCU with seven boards.

» The Lubbock Christian defense forced 19 turnovers. Each squad had 19 turnovers in the contest.

» Maci Maddox and Grace Foster led the Lady Chaps with 16 points apiece. Maddox was 8-of-11 from the field, while Foster was 7-of-12.

» Last season, Grace Foster opened the season making her first 24 free-throw attempts en route to shooting 91.5% from the line on the season. Friday, she was 2-of-5 from the line and missed her first two attempts of the game/season (Foster did not have a game last season in which she missed more than two free-throws).

» LCU was 28/54 from the field (51.9%) and had a better shooting mark from the field produced by Union (49.1%). LCU was 23-3 last season in contests in which LCU had a better shooting percentage from the field.

» Kennedy Chappell made her LCU debut. The freshman scored eight points and drew seven fouls.

» Union was led by Macey Lee (19 points) and Shanique Lucas (18 points).

» The Bulldogs went 12-of-25 (48%) from the field, which was the highest amount of three-pointers by an opposing team at Rip Griffin Center since Cameron had 13 on Mar. 5, 2021.

» The 32 points produced by Union in the first quarter was the highest tally by an LCU opponent in a single quarter since Newman posted 32 points in the fourth quarter of a meeting on Mar. 3, 2017.

» With the loss, LCU falls to 29-16 all-time in season openers (13-8 all-time under Steve Gomez in season openers). They also had an 11-game win streak in home openers snapped, to fall to 19-2 in home openers under head coach Steve Gomez.

» The loss marked LCU's first home loss to a non-conference opponent since falling 85-81 to Oklahoma City on January 1, 2015 inside Rip Griffin Center.

» Union improved to 3-0 in the all-time series. The two teams were meeting in Lubbock for the first time, after meeting in the NAIA National Championships in 2005 and 2006. The 2006 meeting was in the NAIA National Championship Game.

What's Next

Lubbock Christian remains home Sunday and hosts Adams State at 5 p.m., which is part of the D2CCA TipOff Classic inside Rip Griffin Center.
 

Portions of this article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.