TYLER, Texas (December 4, 2024) – Grace Foster surpassed 1,500 career points in a memorable performance, scoring seven of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help No. 2 Lubbock Christian University end the Lone Star Conference game on an 11-0 run and secure a 53-50 victory over No. 5 UT Tyler in their first road game of the season.
 
The Lady Chaps (9-0, 3-0) had two players score in double figures, led by Foster, who had 16 points. Audrey Robertson added 11 points and three steals and Kennedy Chappell added four points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
 
Lubbock Christian forced 17 Texas-Tyler turnovers while committing 10 themselves in Wednesday's game. The Lady Chaps turned those takeaways into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor (20-10 scoring advantage in points-off-turnovers). Robertson's three steals led the way for Lubbock Christian, who recorded nine steals for their highest total since posting 10 in their season-opener against Kutztown.
 
UTT (5-1, 1-1) suffered their first loss of the season. The Patriots received 12 points each from Polina Latysheva and Meagan Mendazona. They had a 35-29 rebound advantage over LCU, with Mendoza completing a double-double with 10 rebounds.
 
How It Happened
Lubbock Christian opened their scoring with Foster and Robertson each connecting from long distance.  A trio of points by Audry Spurgin added to the mix and LCU led 9-6 four minutes into the game. UTT would respond with 13-4 run to close out the first quarter for a 19-13 advantage.
 
UT Tyler built a 28-18 advantage before Lubbock Christian closed the half on a 6-0 run to narrow its deficit to 28-24 at the break. Robertson had three points in each quarter and led LCU at the half with six points. UTT' Latysheva scored all 12 of her points in the first half.
 
Lubbock Christian came out of halftime on fire, going on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Spurgin, to grab a 29-28 lead with 7:25 to go in the quarter. After a 7-2 LCU run to open the half, the Patriots responded with a 7-0 run to regain the lead (led 37-31). LCU scored the final three points of the quarter form the free-throw line and cut UTT's lead to 37-34 entering the fourth quarter. Lubbock Christian took advantage of five Texas-Tyler turnovers in the quarter, scoring seven points off takeaways. Foster led LCU in the quarter with four points (all from the free-throw line).
 
The Patriots widened their lead in the fourth quarter, constructing a 50-42 advantage with 4:03 remaining. UTT would not score the rest of the contest, as Lubbock Christian went on an 11-0 run to seize the 53-50 win. Foster scored five points over the 11-0 run, with a three-pointer putting her over the 1,500-point mark in her career. Lubbock Christian took advantage of five UTT turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off the takeaways. The Patriots only had three field goal attempts over the final four minutes.
 
Game Notes
» The Lady Chaps improved to 3-0 when trailing at the half, and 2-0 on the season when trailing after three quarters. LCU was 5-7 last season when trailing at the half and 0-10 when trailing at the end of three quarters.

» LCU shot a season-low 31.3% from the field. They won despite being out-shot from the field for the first time this season.

» LCU's 20 points scored off turnovers marks a season high.
 
» Both teams went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter but struggled the rest of the game, each finishing 4-of-18 overall, with just one three-pointer made after the first quarter.

» Grace Foster led the Lady Chaps with a game-high 16 points, as she has led LCU in scoring in all nine contests this season. She became the first Lady Chaps member to reach 1,500 career points since Allie Schulte achieved the mark on Feb. 3, 2022. She is one of 15 active NCAA Division II players with at least 1,500 career points (Foster has 1,505 career points).

» Lubbock Christian got a team-high six rebounds from Kennedy Chappell, who also led LCU with a plus/minus mark of +10.

» In their previous game against Southwestern Oklahoma State, the Lady Chaps led for just 8:06—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. On Wednesday against UT Tyler, LCU led for only 7:58, making it back-to-back games where they won despite holding a lead for less than nine minutes.
 
» The win ended a four-game losing streak against nationally ranked foes, as the win was LCU's first over a nationally ranked program since a NCAA South Central Regional win over No.10 Texas Woman's (62-55 in San Angelo, Texas). Diving deeper, it was their first win over a top-five nationally ranked team since defeating Lander (Nov. 19, 2021) and their first road win over a nationally ranked opponent since defeating No.15 Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo. on Mar. 16, 2019 (NCAA South Central Regional).

» The game marked LCU's first true road game of the season. Their 9-0 overall record is now broken down as: 4-0 at home, 1-0 on the road and 4-0 in neutral-site contests.
 
» Lubbock Christian is 9-0 to open the season for the first time since their 2020-21 23-0 national championship season.
 
» The Lady Chaps ended a three-game losing streak against UT Tyler and are now 5-3 all-time against the Patriots. They also improved to 5-1 all-time in Tyler against the Pats.
 
Next Up
LCU's first road trip of the season and conference road trip of the season continues Friday in Denton, Texas, as they face No.2 Texas Woman's at 6 p.m. inside Kitty Magee Arena. The defending national finalist squad is ranked No.2 in the WBCA Top-25 poll, while LCU is No.2 in the D2CSC Top-25 poll.