Box Score LUBBOCK, Texas (Feb. 23, 2017) – Lubbock Christian (Texas) isn't used to being challenged on its home court, but Oklahoma Christian did just that on Thursday night at the Rip Griffin Center.
OC held its own all the way with the defending NCAA Division II women's basketball champion, but a brief offensive lapse midway through the third quarter by the Lady Eagles allowed Lubbock Christian to build a double-digit lead, which LCU rode to an 88-76 win in the regular-season finale for OC.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for OC (15-13, 10-6 Heartland Conference), which gave the Chaparrals their second-closest game all season in Lubbock but wasn't able to deal them what would have been their first league home loss since they joined the Heartland in 2013.
The Lady Eagles will learn for sure on Saturday who they will face in the first round of the Heartland Conference Championship tournament on March 3 in Tulsa, but it's likely OC will be paired against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Lubbock Christian (16-10, 11-4) will finish either second or third in the league standings, depending on Saturday's results.
It wasn't hard to see how the Lady Eagles lost – they were outrebounded 46-29 while giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Chaparrals. That helped negate a solid offensive effort by OC, which committed only eight turnovers and went 20-of-23 from the free-throw line.
Of course, Lubbock Christian went 25-of-27 from the line, which didn't help OC's cause.
"Rebounding, or lack of, really hurt us," OC coach
Stephanie Findley said. "But this was one of our better offensive games in this gym. We just couldn't pull out enough stops. I really liked our effort on offense, though."
McKenzie Stanford, the Heartland's leading scorer, poured in 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. OC's other high-scoring senior,
Sarah Parker, scored 15 points and led the Lady Eagles with eight rebounds, while sophomore
Addy Clift added 12 points.
But Lubbock Christian was able to offset that with a dominant performance by the reigning Division II national player of the week, Tess Bruffey, who had 18 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. Olivia Robertson added 18 points off the bench for the Chaparrals, who overcame significant foul trouble.
The first quarter was one of the wildest of the season anywhere in the Heartland. It ended with the Chaparrals up 30-29, having shot 57.9 percent compared to 64.3 percent for OC. Lubbock Christian built a 40-30 lead early in the second quarter, but the Lady Eagles went on a 10-0 run and tied the game on a three-point play by Stanford at the 3:24 mark.
A 3-pointer by
Emma Gade again pulled OC even at 43-43 with 1:19 left in the half, but Robertson hit a long jumper and Bobbi Chitsey made a 3-pointer to give the Chaparrals a 5-point halftime lead.
OC was within 50-48 after a basket by
Audrey Hayes with 8:12 left in the third quarter, but the Lady Eagles managed only two field goals over the next 6½ minutes. Lubbock Christian took advantage and built a 68-53 lead on a layup by Robertson with 1:50 left in the quarter.
The Lady Eagles came as close as seven points early in the fourth quarter but couldn't cut the gap any more than that. Lubbock Christian went 8-of-10 from the line in the final 4:11 to seal the win.
Stanford – who leads the Heartland scoring race by a whopping 2.0 points per game – increased her season total to 506, only the 24th time an OC player has scored 500 or more in a season. She's the first Lady Eagle to do so since Katy O'Steen in the 2012-13 season.
