LUBBOCK, Texas (December 10, 2023) - Grace Foster scored 27 points to surpass 1,000 career points as a member of Lubbock Christian University, but her performance was not enough to claim a victory in the No.20 Lady Chaps first Lone Star Conference home game of the season, as Texas A&M International overcame a 15-point deficit to hand LCU a 65-60 loss Sunday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center.
LCU fell to 7-3 overall and the loss marked their first Lone Star Conference loss of the season (2-1). Foster led the Lady Chaps with 27 points and two blocks. She was the lone Lady Chaps member with double figures in points, as the Lady Chaps offense was woeful in the second half.
Neither team demonstrated ball security, as the two teams combined for 45 turnovers (season-high 24 by LCU). Shaylee Stovall had a trio of steals to lead the way individually for the Lady Chaps.
How It Happened
LCU started off strong, putting together a 17-9 lead heading into the second quarter. Lubbock Christian capitalized on seven Texas A&M International turnovers in the period, turning them into six points on the other end of the floor. LCU's defense held TAMIU to two field goals in the frame, as the Dustdevils were 2-of-11 (18.2%) in the opening quarter. Foster posted nine points in the quarter and had LCU shoot 5-of-9 from the field (55.6%) in the opening 10 minutes.
Lubbock Christian kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 10-0 run starting at the 6:11 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Foster, to increase its lead to 31-16 (LCU's largest lead of the game). The Dustdevils cut into that lead with a 9-0 run to end the first half, but the Lady Chaps still enjoyed a 31-25 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 14 points. Foster had both three-pointers to finish with six points in the quarter and 15 points in the half.
Stovall had a layup to put LCU up 33-25 in the opening possession of the second half, but TAMIU began chipping away at the deficit. An 11-3 TAMIU run put TAMIU up 44-41 and they took a 47-46 lead into the fourth quarter. LCU had 15 points in the quarter and 10 were from Foster, who surpassed 1,000 on her fourth point of the quarter, which occurred on one of two of her three-pointers she connected on during the quarter.
With 4:10 remaining in the game, Audrey Robertson had a layup to cut LCU's deficit to 58-57, but LCU went the next four minutes without a field goal. The Lady Chaps missed eight consecutive field goal attempts in the span, as TAMIU was able to hold on for the win despite closing the game 1-of-7 from the field in the final five minutes.
LCU was 5-of-18 from the field in the quarter (27.8%) and they were 37% (10/27) from the field in the half. Foster had 12 of LCU's 29 points in the second half.
Game Notes
» LCU fell to 6-2 on the season when out-shooting their opponents this season. The Lady Chaps held the Dustdevils to only 39.3% shooting from the field, while shooting 42.9%.
» The Lady Chaps shared the ball well, recording an assist on 67 percent of made field goals. Maci Maddox had seven assists, coming two shy of matching her career-high total.
» Grace Foster surpassed 1,000 career points in the third quarter, as she entered the game needing 19 points and finished with 27 points. The last time a Lady Chaps member reached the 1,000-point mark was Ashton Duncan, who surpassed 1,000 points on Feb. 17, 2022. Foster's 27 points marked her 18th career game she has scored at least 20 points in a game.
» The Lubbock Christian defense forced 21 turnovers, while their offense produced a season-high 24 turnovers. The 45 combined turnovers were the most in a Lady Chaps game since they combined with Texas Permian Basin for 47 on Feb. 20, 2021. TAMIU outscored LCU 21-20 in points-off-turnovers.
» LCU led for 27:08 and TAMIU led for a game total of 10:35.
» Lubbock Christian got five rebounds from both Reese Schumann and Grace Foster. Schumann led LCU in rebounds in their prior game (at Arkansas Fort Smith) marking the first time in Schumann's career she led or co-led LCU in rebounds in consecutive games.
» The Lady Chaps struggled from the free-throw line (13-of-20, 65%) and from long range (5-of-14, 35.7%). The 65% from the line was a season low and the first sub-70% team shooting performance from the free-throw line this season. Foster was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, but the rest of the team was a combined 7-of-13 (53.8%). It was the same story from the outside shooting, as Foster was a sharp 5-of-7 from three-point range (the five three-pointers for Foster were a career high), but the rest of the team was a combined 0-of-7 from outside.
» TAMIU had 14 offensive rebounds, which led to them outscoring LCU 17-5 in second-chance scoring. The 17 points by an LCU opponent in the category is the most since Texas A&M-Kingsville scored 17 on Mar. 2, 2023. The 12-point difference in the category was the worst for LCU since UTPB outscored LCU 22-6 in the category on Jan. 5, 2023.
» LCU fell to 3-2 at home with the loss on the season, as the loss ended a three-game home win streak.
» The win for TAMIU marked their first ever win in Lubbock against LCU (10-1). They have defeated LCU in consecutive games for the first time in the all-time series, which LCU leads 19-3.
» TAMIU improved to 9-1 on the season and 2-1 in LSC play. They received 16 points from Malea Jackson, 13 points from Raiana Brown and a double-double (13 rebounds, 12 points) from Ngozi Obineke.
What's Next
LCU remains home Tuesday and hosts Texas A&M-Kingsville Tuesday at 1 p.m. in a Lone Star Conference contest inside Rip Griffin Center before breaking for the holidays.
Portions of this article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
