LUBBOCK, Texas (August 31, 2026) — Lubbock Christian University women's basketball will trade the South Plains for the shores of Oahu to open the 2026-27 season, as the Lady Chaparrals have been selected to compete in the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic, a D2CCA-sanctioned season-opening event scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Honolulu.
The three-day event will feature a true eight-team tournament bracket inside Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Center on the Saint Louis School campus, with each team guaranteed three games and advancing through the bracket toward placement games on the final day. LCU will be joined in the field by Alaska Anchorage, Chaminade, Colorado Mesa, Hawaii Pacific, St. Mary's, Western Colorado and Winona State.
The Lady Chaps open the season Friday, Oct. 30 against Winona State at 7 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (will be midnight, Saturday, Oct. 31 in Lubbock). The matchup is one of four opening-round games, with St. Mary's facing Chaminade at 12:15 p.m. (Hawaii Time), Colorado Mesa meeting Alaska Anchorage at 2:30 p.m. (Hawaii Time) and Hawaii Pacific taking on Western Colorado at 4:45 p.m. (Hawaii Time).
Unlike recent D2CCA Tip-Off events featuring predetermined matchups, the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic will operate in a traditional tournament format. The result of LCU's opener will determine its remaining path through the bracket.
A win over Winona State would send the Lady Chaps into a semifinal Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (Midnight, Sunday, Nov.1) against the winner of Hawaii Pacific and Western Colorado. A loss would place LCU in the corresponding consolation semifinal against the loser of that matchup at 2:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CT).
All eight teams will return to the court Sunday, Nov. 1 for placement games. The seventh-place game opens the final day at 12:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. CT), followed by the fifth-place game at 2:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. CT) and the third-place game at 4:45 p.m. (8:45 p.m. CT). The tournament championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. (11:00 p.m. CT) All announced tournament times are Hawaii Standard Time (clocks turn back for Daylight Savings in Texas for Sunday but Hawaii does not change clocks, etc.).
The event, hosted by Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific alongside College Tournaments Hawaii, LLC, continues LCU's lengthy association with D2CCA season-opening events. D2CCA Tip-Off events have become a regular destination for the Lady Chaps and annually bring together prominent NCAA Division II programs for high-level competition at the beginning of the season.
This fall will mark LCU's sixth consecutive season participating in a D2CCA Tip-Off event. The Lady Chaps' run includes the 2021 D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead hosted by Montana State Billings, the 2022 event staged by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in Kansas City, Missouri, and a 2023 edition hosted by LCU in Lubbock. West Texas A&M hosted the event in 2024 before LCU traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri, last season.
LCU enters the Hawaii event with an 8-3 all-time record in D2CCA Tip-Off competition and riding a six-game winning streak in D2CCA Tip-Off games. The Lady Chaps added two victories to that run last season at the D2CCA Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic inside St. Joseph Civic Arena. LCU rallied from a 13-point deficit in its season opener to defeat Adams State 66-57 before completing a perfect weekend with an 82-75 victory over host Missouri Western.
While the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic marks LCU's first D2CCA event in Hawaii, the trip will not be unfamiliar territory for the Lady Chaparrals. It will mark the program's third trip to Hawaii and its third visit to Honolulu. LCU is a perfect 4-0 in games played in the state.
The Lady Chaps made their first trip to Honolulu during the 2013-14 season for the Oahu Classic at McKinley High School Gymnasium. LCU defeated BYU-Hawaii 75-48 on Nov. 28, 2013 before earning a 92-80 victory over Hawaii Pacific the following day.
Eight years later, LCU returned to Oahu for the 2021 Oahu Thanksgiving Classic. Playing inside Hawaii Pacific's Shark Tank, the Lady Chaps defeated Minnesota Crookston 62-42 on Nov. 25 before closing the trip with a 73-52 road victory over Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 26.
The 2026 trip will therefore provide LCU an opportunity to extend both its six-game D2CCA Tip-Off winning streak and its four-game winning streak in Hawaii.
LCU heads into the new campaign following another NCAA postseason appearance. The Lady Chaps finished the 2025-26 season with a 23-8 overall record and went 15-5 in Lone Star Conference play. They were 11-1 inside Rip Griffin Center and posted a 9-5 record in road contests.
The Lady Chaps opened last season with 11 consecutive victories and eventually earned a berth in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. The selection marked LCU's 10th NCAA postseason appearance in 11 seasons of NCAA postseason eligibility.
The Hoops in Hawaii field provides an immediate challenge as LCU begins pursuit of another postseason run. The eight-team bracket features programs from across the NCAA Division II landscape, and its tournament format means the Lady Chaps will know only their opening opponent before results begin determining the remainder of their three-game stay.
For LCU, that journey begins against Winona, Minn. based Winona State, which is a program LCU has never faced. The remainder of Lubbock Christian's 2026-27 regular-season schedule is being finalized and will be announced at a later date.
