SAN ANTONIO, Texas (January 4, 2026) – No. 7 Lubbock Christian saw its unbeaten Lone Star Conference start come to an end Sunday, as St. Mary's hit timely perimeter shots and held off the Lady Chaps 66–64 inside Bill Greehey Arena.
 
LCU (13–2, 5–1 LSC) shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the field and finished with a 44–30 scoring advantage in the paint, but the Rattlers countered by outscoring the Lady Chaps 27–3 from beyond the arc. St. Mary's finished 9 of 26 from 3-point range, while LCU went 1 for 9 — its lowest total since Feb. 3, 2024. Despite 18 lead changes and 10 ties, the Lady Chaps came up empty on their final possession, as a contested reverse layup at the horn bounced off to seal the loss.
 
Junior guard Kennedy Chappell paced LCU with a game-high 23 points, scoring 11 before halftime and adding 12 more after the break. Freshman guard Meg Meekins added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Martie McCoy finished with 11 points and eight boards. LCU shot 63.2 percent inside the arc and out-rebounded StMU 26–24 but saw its streak of 10 straight wins when out-shooting its opponent snapped.
 
St. Mary's (9–2, 4–1) was led by forward Christin Callens, who scored 16 points — including 11 in the fourth quarter — while guard Quezia Bertoni added 18 on 7-of-9 shooting with three 3-pointers. The Rattlers shot 50 percent from the floor and became the first LCU opponent to hit at least 50 percent since Texas Woman's did so on Jan. 27, 2024.
 
The fourth quarter featured six lead changes. Chappell put LCU ahead 62–60 with 2:57 remaining, but the Rattlers answered with a 3-pointer from Raynne Malik 21 seconds later and outscored the Lady Chaps 6–2 down the stretch. LCU had a sideline inbounds with under two seconds left following a missed free throw, but the play broke down and the Lady Chaps could not convert at the buzzer.
 
LCU, now 6–2 in true road games, closes its seven-game road swing Thursday in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Lady Chaps fell to 22–5 all-time against St. Mary's and 5–4 in San Antonio.

How It Happened
Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's opened their matchup with a tightly contested first quarter, resulting in a narrow 19-16 lead for the home team. St. Mary's jumped out to a 5-0 lead, as LCU had four turnovers (only had 10 in the game) before they had their first shot attempt. Once able to get shots off, the Lady Chaps opened the game 8-of-11 from the field (6/9 in the first quarter). Martie McCoy opened a 6-0 run with a pair of layups. St. Mary's responded with effective outside shooting, including a three-pointer from Andrea Montesinos at 4:57. Near the end of the quarter, StMU's Quezia Bertoni scored a jumper with just 36 seconds remaining to help maintain their slim advantage. While LCU was without a three-point attempt in the opening quarter, the Rattlers were 4-of-10 from downtown (all from four different players). McCoy, Meekins and Chappell each had four points in the period.
 
The Lady Chaps and St. Mary's ended the second quarter in a stalemate, each scoring 16 points. Chappell contributed significantly for Lubbock Christian, initiating the quarter with a layup just 19 seconds in. She later assisted McCoy on a three-pointer at 6:22, capping a 7-0 run to give LCU their largest lead at 26-21. However, StMU rallied back, tying the game with a three-pointer from Montesinos at 5:26, and eventually regaining the lead with a layup by Allie Garcia at 2:06. The Rattlers out-scored LCU 14-6 over the final six minutes of the half to take a 35-32 lead into the half. Chappell had seven points in the quarter to give her a team-leading 11 points at the half.
 
Lubbock Christian began the third quarter trailing StMU but quickly narrowed the gap with a layup by Meg Meekins at 7:51, assisted by Chappell, bringing the score to 34-37. The teams exchanged baskets throughout the quarter, with Bertoni extending the home team's lead to 40-34 with a three-pointer at 7:02. Chappell made significant contributions, scoring multiple times in the paint, including a jumper at 1:39 to bring the Lady Chaps within one point, 46-47. In the final minute, Taylor Allen hit two crucial free throws at 0:45 to give Lubbock Christian a brief 48-47 lead. However, StMU reclaimed the advantage with a layup from Bertoni, assisted by Aina Maynou, with 27 seconds left, ending the quarter 49-48 in their favor. Chappel paced the LCU offense in the frame with six points.
 
In a closely contested final quarter, the Lady Chaps and St. Mary's traded leads multiple times. Chappell scored a layup at 5:36, putting her team ahead 56-55. Moments later, StMU regained the lead with a layup by Raynne Malik, assisted by Maynou, at 4:36, making it 58-56. Tia Johnson's jumper put Lubbock Christian up 60-58 with 3:15 left on the clock. Chappell had a pair of free-throws with 2:57 remaining to give LCU a 62-60 advantage, but StMU responded with a three-pointer 21 seconds later from by Malik to regain the Rattlers lead at 63-62. The Rattlers out-scored LCU 6-2 the rest of the way. LCU had a possession inside the final 10 seconds following a Montesinos free-throw miss, but a busted inbounds play with under two seconds remaining, left Chappell with a tough reverse layup attempt she was unable to convert at the buzzer, as LCU missed three of their final four shot attempts of the game inside the final two minutes (StMU closed the game 7-of-10 from the field). Callens led StMU with 11 points in the final quarter, while Chappell led LCU with six points in the quarter (she led LCU with 12 points in the half). Of the game's 18 lead changes, six were in the final quarter.  
 
Game Notes
» Lubbock Christian shot a season-high 53.2% from the field (25-of-47), including a blistering 63.2% inside the arc (24-of-38), marking their fourth game this season shooting at least 50 percent. Despite out-shooting St. Mary's 53.2% to 50.0%, LCU suffered its first loss of the year when finishing with the higher field-goal percentage, falling to 10–1 in those games. It also marked the Lady Chaps' first defeat when shooting 50 percent or better since Nov. 3, 2023 against Union (Tenn.), and their highest shooting percentage in a loss since posting 60 percent against Newman on Feb. 21, 2019. St. Mary's became the first LCU opponent to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor since Texas Woman's shot 54.9 percent on Jan. 27, 2024.

» Kennedy Chappell recorded her sixth 20-plus point performance of the season — and of her career — finishing with a game-high 23 points. The junior guard was consistent throughout, scoring 11 points in the first half before adding 12 after the break, including six points in each quarter of the second half. The performance marked the 24^th double-figure scoring game of her LCU career, as she has double figures in points in 14 of 15 games this season and in her last 10 consecutive games.

» LCU did its damage inside, finishing with 44 points in the paint — their highest total since posting 44 against Missouri Western State on Nov. 7, 2022. The Lady Chaps were, however, outscored 27–3 from beyond the arc, going 1-for-9 from three-point range while St. Mary's finished 9-for-26, with six of those threes coming on possessions when the game was tied or LCU led. LCU's lone three-pointer — made by Martie McCoy in the second quarter on the team's first attempt of the day — marked a season low and their fewest since being held to one three against Cameron on Feb. 3, 2024. It also represented just the eighth time in LCU's NCAA era they have been limited to a single made three, as the Lady Chaps missed their final eight attempts from long range.

» The game featured 18 lead changes, which is the most in a game for the Lady Chaps since them and UT Tyler combined for 20 lead changes on March 13, 2023. StMU led for 26:57, while LCU led for 4:57. LCU's minimal lead time was due to StMU's hot shooting when either trailing or when the game was tied, as the Rattlers were 14-of-22 (63.6%) from the field on possessions in which LCU led or the game was tied (5-of-6 in the second half). Additionally, of the 14 field goals, six were three-pointers.
 
» Freshman Meg Meekins turned in a solid performance, finishing with 14 points (12 in the second half), four assists and four rebounds. She was 0-of-2 from three-point range (her first game of the season without a three-pointer), as her streak of 14 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer was snapped (it is tied for the fifth-most in LCU's NCAA scheduling era -- started 2013-14 season). Meekins became the sixth player to achieve the mark (in the era), and the record in the era remains at 27 by Ashton Duncan during the 2019-20 season.
 
» The Lady Chaps edged StMU with a 26-24 rebound advantage (lowest rebound total of the season and lowest total since 22 on Mar. 15, 2024 against Colorado Mesa and lowest in a win since 19 on Feb. 22, 2024 against St. Edward's). LCU has out-rebounded their opponents in a season-best stretch of five consecutive games.
  
» Martie McCoy had a contributing statistical night as well, posting 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists (no turnovers for a third straight game). McCoy's 11 points marked her eighth game of double figures this season (11th in her LCU career).
  
» The Lady Chaps fell to 22-5 all-time against StMU. LCU has dropped consecutive trips to San Antonio to face the Rattlers and are now 5-4 all-time in San Antonio against the Rattlers.
 
» Playing the sixth game of a seven-game road swing, LCU moved to 6–2 in road contests this season (they are 4-2 on the current seven-game road trip).
 
Next Up
LCU heads to Wichita Falls, Texas Thursday and has a 5:30 p.m. Lone Star Conference match against Midwestern State.