OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (November 30, 2023) – Audrey Robertson posted a career-high 20 points and Lubbock Christian University was able to hold onto a 17-point advantage, as the Lady Chaparrals edged Oklahoma Christian 69-65 in their Lone Star Conference opener Thursday night inside The Eagles' Nest.
The Lady Chaps (6-2, 1-0) had three players score in double figures, led by Robertson, whose 20 points led all scorers. Grace Foster tacked on 17 points and nine rebounds and Maci Maddox helped out with 14 points. All nine Lady Chaps that had minutes added into the scoring.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 14-10 advantage, Lubbock Christian went on a 10-0 run with 2:54 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Kennedy Chappell, to increase its lead to 24-10, a score that would hold for the rest of the period. Lubbock Christian capitalized on four Oklahoma Christian turnovers in the period, turning them into seven points on the other end of the floor. Robertson had 10 of her 20 points in the opening frame.
Maddox opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to cap a 13-0 run. Lubbock Christian kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 5-0 run starting at the 5:13 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Chappell, to increase its lead to 34-18. The Eagles cut into that lead, but the Lady Chaps still enjoyed a 37-26 advantage heading into halftime. Lubbock Christian was strong from deep in the period, knocking down two three-point shots to account for six of its 13 points. Robertson (10) and Grace Foster (8) combined for 18 points in the half for LCU, who shot 58.3% (14/24) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
After intermission, Lubbock Christian held on to its advantage and owned a 50-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Robertson led LCU with seven points in the quarter. Lubbock Christian took advantage of three Oklahoma Christian turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of takeaways (5-2 advantage in the category in the frame).
A minute into the final quarter, LCU led 54-42, but OC would chip away and mount a comeback bid. A 9-0 OC run cut LCU's lead to 54-51 with 5:23 remaining. Lubbock Christian kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Foster's layup, to grow the lead to 67-58 with 37 seconds to go in the contest. The Eagles hit a pair of three-pointers over a 20-second span and went on a 7-0 run to cut the LCU lead to 67-65, but a pair of free-throws from Maddox sealed the LCU win. Lubbock Christian took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 10 of its 19 points (fourth-quarter points) in the paint.
Robertson (10) and Foster (9) combined for 19 points in the second half. LCU, after shooting solid in the opening half, shot 32% (8/25) in the second half. Meanwhile, OC was 16-of-30 (53.3%) in the half and was 4-of-9 (44.4%) from long-range.
Game Notes
» Prior to the game, Ken Jones, former Lubbock Christian University President and current Oklahoma Christian University President conducted the pre-game invocation.
» The Lady Chaps shot well from three-point range, knocking down 4-of-10 long range attempts. Audrey Robertson was 2-of-2 and Kennedy Chappell (1-of-1) were each perfect from outside.
» The Lady Chaps never trailed after taking a 10-8 first quarter lead (midway through the first quarter).
» Lubbock Christian had a 37-33 edge on the boards in the win. The 37 rebounds are a season-high. Of the 37, LCU had a season-high 10 offensive boards and a high of 10 points off second-chance scoring (outscored OC 10-9 in the category). Grace Foster matched a season high with nine boards to lead LCU.
» Audrey Robertson led the Lady Chaps with a game-high 20 points. The mark was a career high and replaced her prior career high totals of 19 (against Montana State Billings on Dec. 17, 2022). She was 8-of-11 from the field.
» The home team in LCU's road games have struggled from the line (home teams were a combined 57.1% from the line entering the game) and Thursday was no different, as OC was 5-of-11 (45.5%) from the free-throw line. Even Brooklin Bane (a 90% shooter at the line) was 1-of-3 from the charity stripe for the Lady Eagles. As for LCU, Grace Foster was 9-of-10 from the line, but she did miss her first free-throw in the second half, which snapped a streak of 29 consecutive made free-throws. Shaylee Stovall, who had a pivotal old-fashioned three-point play in the fourth quarter, converted the three-point play with her lone free-throw attempt of the game and has made 17 consecutive free-throws.
» OC was solid in ball-control and produced 11 turnovers. The mark is the first time an LCU opponent has produced less than 17 turnovers.
» This season marks LCU's fifth season in the Lone Star Conference. Thursday's game marked LCU's conference opener and the game was their 30th conference opener (six Heartland Conference and 19 Sooner Athletic Conference openers prior to joining the LSC). The Lady Chaps are now 4-1 in LSC openers. They went 11-8 all-time in SAC openers and 5-1 in HC openers. They are now 18-3 all-time in conference openers
under head coach Steve Gomez and they have won 17 of their last 19 consecutive conference openers. They have defeated Oklahoma Christian in two consecutive openers.
» LCU improved to 2-1 on the road this season.
» The win was the 21st consecutive win by LCU over OC in the all-time series. LCU, winners of 10 straight meetings in Oklahoma City, improved to 32-29 all-time against OC and 28-11 under head coach Steve Gomez. OC's last win over LCU was Feb. 17, 2011.
» OC had 30 points produced from their bench, as 14 points from Taylor Jackson (off the bench) led all Lady Eagles in scoring. Bain finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
What's Next
LCU remains on the road for the first LSC road trip Saturday, as they head into Fort Smith, Ark. to face Arkansas Fort Smith (1 p.m. opening tip).
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
