LUBBOCK, Texas (November 26, 2024) – No. 5 Lubbock Christian University rallied from a season-high 12-point deficit, fueled by Grace Foster's 30-point performance and a dominant 21-12 fourth-quarter surge, to secure a 67-59 victory over previously unbeaten Southwestern Oklahoma State Tuesday night at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Lady Chaps (8-0) had three players score in double figures, led by Grace Foster, who had a double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Maci Maddox added 11 points and four assists and Audrey Robertson helped out with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
 
Lubbock Christian grabbed 45 rebounds in Tuesday's game compared to Southwestern Oklahoma State's 33, led by Foster's 12 boards. The Lady Chaps also put in work on the offensive glass, turning 13 rebounds into nine second chance points (9-3 scoring advantage in the category).
 
LCU did a great job disrupting Southwestern Oklahoma State shots in the contest, coming away with seven blocks. Foster's four rejections led the way individually for the Lady Chaps.
 
SWOSU (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season. The Bulldogs received 13 points from Layni Zinn and 12 points from Hailey Grant. They out-scored LCU 14-12 in points-off-turnovers, but did not fully take advantage of a 13-8 advantage in turnovers.
 
How It Happened
Lubbock Christian struggled out of the gate, falling behind 7-0 as the Bulldogs made their first three shot attempts. Despite LCU have a 5-of-6 shooting sequence in the opening frame, SWOSU's 7-of-11 from the field, to open the game, had the Bulldogs in control. SWOSU was 5-of-8 from long-range in the first quarter (from four different players), with two by Mason Jones, to take a 23-13 advantage. LCU, 0-of-4 from three-point range in the frame, had five points in the quarter from Foster.
 
Lubbock Christian had their deficit slip to 12 before going on a 10-3 run, highlighted by a bucket from Robertson, to narrow its deficit to 30-25. Southwestern Oklahoma State, with five players with at least five points in the half, took a 36-29 lead into the locker room. LCU was led by Foster at the break, as she led all players in the half with 11 points.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State made its first field goal attempt of the second half and was sitting 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the field, but their hot shotting came to an abrupt ending. They missed their next four attempts and went on a 1-of-12 shooting dry spell. Meanwhile,  Lubbock Christian went on an 8-0 run to trim its deficit to 38-37 with 6:21 to go in the third. The run eventually turned into a 13-4 scoring advantage, capped by a Taylor Thomas three-pointer to give LCU a 42-41 lead for their first lead of the game. Five of SWOSU's final seven points of the fourth quarter were from the free-throw line and they used the line to take a 47-46 advantage into the fourth quarter. Lubbock Christian received seven points from Maci Maddox and five from Foster in the quarter.
 
Zinn hit two big three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter, with her second giving the Bulldogs a 53-49 advantage, but each three-pointer was answered by Foster. The second for Foster sparked an 8-0 run to seize a 57-53 lead with 4:33 to go in the contest. Foster hit three consecutive three-pointers and scored LCU's first 14 points of the quarter to help LCU garner a 60-55 advantage. The Lady Chaps kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 67-59 win. Foster was 5-of-7 from the field in the quarter (3-of-3 from three-point range) and finished with 14 points in the quarter. She would go 4-of-4 in the half from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the field (overall) to finish with 19 points in the half. She also posted eight of her 12 rebounds in the half.
 
Game Notes
» Grace Foster notched an impressive double-double for the Lady Chaps with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Her fourth double-double of the season included a 5-of-7 performance from three-point range, which matched a career high for three-pointers made (5). Her season-high 30 points marked the third time in her LCU career she has reached the 30-point plateau in a contest, and it ties as the fifth-most by a Lady Chaps member since 2008.
 
» The Lady Chaps led for just 8:06, marking their shortest time holding a lead in a winning effort since March 4, 2018, when they led for only 6:45 but defeated Arkansas Fort Smith 69-61 in the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa.
 
» Lubbock Christian rallied from a seven-point 36-29 halftime deficit to pick up the win. They also rallied from a 47-46 deficit to start the fourth quarter. LCU is 2-0 when trailing at the half and 1-0 when trailing after three quarters.

» The Lady Chaps held the Bulldogs to only 33.9 percent shooting from the field. The Bulldogs shot a mere 22.6% in the second half (7/31).
 
» Grace Foster, Maci Maddox, and Audrey Robertson combined to account for 76 percent of the Lady Chaps points. Maddox posted nine points in the second half and Audrey Robertson provided eight points in the first half.
 
» Prior to Taylor Thomas' three-pointer with 3:08 left in the third quarter, which is when LCU took their first lead of the game, LCU had been 2-of-9 from the field and with three turnovers in shot attempts when their deficit was five-point-or-less.

» Lubbock Christian had a 45-33 edge on the boards in the win, marking the fifth game this season LCU has had a rebound margin in double figures. They had 13 offensive rebounds leading to a 9-3 scoring advantage in second-chance scoring. The 13 offensive boards are a season high.

» The Lady Chaps were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team (highest of the season). Grace Foster led LCU with four blocks.

» Grace Foster has led LCU in all seven games this season and she has posted at least 20 points in seven of LCU's eight contests.

» LCU improved to 4-0 at home on the season.
 
» Lubbock Christian is 8-0 to open the season for the first time since their 2020-21 23-0 national championship season.
 
» The Lady Chaps have now won six consecutive meetings against SWOSU and improve to 9-3 all-time against the Bulldogs all-time. LCU also improves to 4-0 all-time against SWOSU in Lubbock.
 
Next Up
The Lady Chaps hit the Thanksgiving Break and return to Lone Star Conference play Thursday, Dec. 4 in Tyler, Texas facing No.10 UT Tyler. The game will mark LCU's first true road game of the season.