Massive Rally Falls Short

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (November 19, 2011) - No.20 Westmont College went the final 7:36 without a field goal and No.17 Lubbock Christian University rallied from a 19-point second half deficit only to fall short 76-71 despite a career-high 18 points from Nicole Hampton Saturday night at Murchison Gymnasium.

Things were somewhat similar for LCU, who had a one-point second half lead Thursday at No.1 Azusa Pacific and wound up falling 90-71.  Saturday, LCU surrendered an 8-0 run to start the game, but crawled back to take a 23-22 lead with 8:18 remaining in the first half.  The Warriors answered back.  Coming out of the half with a 40-34 lead, Westmont went on an 11-4 run and took a 51-38 lead, and later went on a 11-3 surge to take a 70-51 lead.  A basket by Tugce Canitez capped the run with 7:36 remaining and it was the Warriors final field goal of the game.  LCU went on a 10-0 run and cut the deficit to 70-61 with 2:32 remaining.  It could have even been a bigger run for LCU as they came away empty handed on six trips down the floor during the rally.  April Ehlers nailed a three-pointer for LCU and it egnited an 8-0 LCU run placing the Lady Chaps down 72-69 with 51-seconds remaining.  It would be as close as LCU would get.  Lisa Peterson scored the final four points from the free-throw line and the Warriors tallied their final six points from the free-throw line to avoid the comeback.

The Warriors were strong from three-point range, knocking down 11 three-pointers. They were 11-of-21 from beyond the arch, going 7/13 in the first half and 4/8 in the second half.  Katie Kittle (4/6) and Vanessa Farias (5/9) combined to go 9/15 from three-point range and each had 17 points for Westmont.  Meanwhile, LCU was 4/13 (30.8%) from three-point range.  The Warriors received a game-high 19 points from Lisa Peterson, who was 6-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.  Canitez produced a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

LCU had a trio of players in double figures.  Hampton led the way with 18 points off an 8-for-11 shooting performance and she made her first seven shot attempts.  She also led LCU with eight rebounds.  Kelsey Canavan registered 15 points for LCU and Brittany Roberts chipped in 10 points.  LCU trailed at the half despite a 59.1% (13/22) shooting effort in the first half and ended the game shooting 47.4% (27/57).  The Warriors dominated on the boards with a 40-28 rebounding advantage.

The Lady Chaps fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss, while Westmont improved to 5-0.  The Lady Chaps West Coast trip may be over, but they have little time to rest, as they will travel to Stephenville, Texas to face Tarleton State University at 6 p.m.