OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 15, 2020) – With two NCAA Division II women's basketball titles in the past four seasons, Lubbock Christian (Texas) casts an imposing presence and the Chaparrals showed why Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma Christian.

The Chaparrals rolled to a quick 23-4 lead and never looked back in an 81-57 win over OC in the Eagles' Nest, with four players scoring in double figures, led by 6-foot-2 senior center Maddi Chitsey with 21 points.

OC (7-15, 7-11 Lone Star Conference) now is tied with Midwestern State (Texas) for 11th place in the league standings, one game ahead of Texas A&M International and 1½ games ahead of Texas-Permian Basin. The top 12 teams in the LSC will qualify for the league's postseason tournament.

Lubbock Christian (21-3, 15-3) – ranked ninth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll and 19th in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association poll – seems destined to tie for second in the LSC.

OC coach Stephanie Findley burned three of her four timeouts in the first 13 minutes, trying to slow the Chaparrals' early burst. It worked partially, as OC closed within 43-29 on a 3-pointer by Megan Shelton with 1:59 left, but Caitlyn Cunyus capped a 7-0 spurt by Lubbock Christian to end the half that made it 50-29.

Lubbock Christian led by as many as 30 points in the third quarter before reserves for both teams entered the game. OC ended the game on a 10-5 run, keyed by four points by Amaya Buchanan.

"They played like the defending national champs in the first half," Findley said. "They came out on fire and we came out tentative. Our determination to play better defense was much better in the second half but it was too late. We had a hard time scoring inside against Chitsey, but our outside shots weren't falling, either, so it just went from bad to worse. The girls didn't quit in the second half, though. I'm proud of them for hanging in there."

Tyra Peck led OC with 13 points while Carolyne Lawley had 11. Freshman center Emma Epperly played the best of her career so far, scoring nine points to go with five rebounds.

Ashton Duncan, Cunyus and Allie Schulte each scored 11 points for the Chaparrals, who outrebounded OC 43-26.

OC will go on the road for a pair of games next week, visiting in-state rival Cameron on Thursday and Midwestern State on Saturday. The Lady Eagles will close the regular season at home against No. 3-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 27 and Texas-Tyler on Feb. 29.