LCU received an at-large bid after posting a 19-11 record during the regular season.  The Lady Chaps rank third in the NAIA in free-throw shooting (77.2%) and they are 11th in field goal percentage at 44.8%.  LCU is led by the scoring of Brittany Hampton, who is a All-Sooner Athletic Conference selection and is averaging 11.6 points a game.

Freed-Hardeman qualified by claiming the TranSouth Athletic Conference Tournament title with a win over No.1 Union University (Tenn.) 75-62.  FHU is 26-6 on the season and are riding a three-game win streak entering the tournament.  They rank fifth in free-throw shooting (76.4%) and seventh in points per game (80.7).  The Lady Lions are led by 2009 State Farm / WBCA NAIA Player of the Year Jana Cross, who is averaging 16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.  Tara Deatheridge ranks seventh in the NAIA in three-point field goals with 78 and ninth in treys per game (2.6). 

FHU, who opened last season against Wayland Baptist University in the national championship, defeated LCU in Jackson at the 2008 tournament 76-70.  Ashley Coggins, Brandi Raindl and Severyn Smith are the only remaining Lady Chap players that participated in that game.  Freed-Hardeman received 27 points from Cross in the Lady Lions win, and she went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.  Deatheridge hit a trio of three-pointers in the game and finished with 11 points.  FHU out-scored LCU 22-7 from the line.

LCU is making their seventh consecutive trip to Jackson and they are 8-6 all-time at the national championship.  FHU is making their 14th appearance and they are 17-13 all-time.  The 2008 meeting is the only tournament meeting between the two teams and their only all-time meeting.  LCU is 1-3 all-time against TranSouth Athletic Conference Teams in the tournament. 

Thirty-one games will be played in Jackson. The first 30 games will be video-streamed by NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. Three different subscription plans for basketball (Men's and Women's Division I; Men's and Women's Division II) will be available for tournament coverage. Users can purchase the All-Tournament pass, which includes every event offered on College Sports Direct from all four basketball championships for $39.95. Each of the four basketball championships can be purchased separately for $24.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95.  Visit www.naia.org for additional information.

Lubbock Christian plans on broadcasting each of their games in Jackson, with Chris Due handling the play-by-play duties.  They will be working with the Sports Express Radio Network to have the games broadcasted on local radio as well.  An announcement will be forthcoming on broadcast plans. 

In the first game of the doubleheader, Alyssa Gutierrez pitched a one-hit shutout to improve her record to 12-1. It was her eighth complete game and sixth shutout of the season. She came two outs away from a no-hitter, as she pitched no-hit ball for the first 4 1/3 innings.  In the bottom of the second inning, the Lady Chaps scored five runs on six hits, highlighted by Kim Frazier’s 20^th home run in 21 games on the season. In the fourth inning, LCU scored seven runs on seven hits, topped off by Amanda Parson’s second home run of the season. Six players hit .500 or better in the game for the Lady Chaps.

LCU got off to a fast start in the second game of the double header, scoring six runs on five hits in the first inning. Clarissa Maldonado hit her first home run of the season, with a three-run shot over the centerfield fence, to cap off the first inning. The Lady Chaps scored runs in every inning, adding three runs in the second, and one run in each the third and fourth innings.  Priscilla FaGaines hit her 12^th home run of the season in the second inning. Jori Rodgers pitched a shutout in her third complete game of the season, improving her record to 8-0.  She held USW to just two hits. Four different Lady Chaps hit doubles in the game.

Tristan Gaines pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits for the Chaps, but LCU missed several opportunities at extending a 3-0 lead.  The Chaps left ten runners stranded in the opener.  Ross Blondin produced a two-out single to score Joe Staley in the first inning and Austin Stewart hit a two-run single in the second inning for their 3-0 lead, but missed several opportunities to extend the lead.  JJ Muse grounded into a double-play with runners at the corners and one out in the third inning, and Marc Gomez and Joe Staley each hit ground balls to second base in the fourth inning to leave a pair of Chaps stranded.  The missed opportunities caught up to them late in the game.

In the sixth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Austin Lasprilla hit a grand slam home run over the centerfield fence off LCU reliever Hunter Scott to give ASU the lead 4-3.  In the bottom half of the inning, LCU was able to get two runners aboard with Stewart reaching on a two-out single, Gomez reaching on a third-strike passed ball.  A balk on former Texas Tech pitcher Sam Janca allowed pinch runner Brett Kazmierski to advance to third base and Christian Soberanes, running for Gomez, advanced to second base.  Janca’s ball-four against Staley reached the backstop and Kazmierski attempted to score on the loose ball, but catcher Cade Baxter chased down the ball and tossed the ball to Janca covering home plate and he tagged Kazmierski out to maintain the lead heading into the seventh inning.

The Rams received all the insurance they needed in the seventh inning, as Scott was unable to get out of the inning.  Two base hits, a trio of walks and an error on short stop David Cruz allowed the Rams to score three runs and extend the lead to 7-3.  Tanner Vickers relieved Scott with the bases loaded, but could not stop the bleeding.  He hit a batter and surrendered a two-run single to Zach Klink before finally getting Nick Adams to strike out to end the six-run Rams top of the seventh inning for a 10-3 lead.  Muse hit a two-run single in the bottom half of the innings, but it would be all the Chaps would get and they fell 10-4.

Scott suffered the loss (4-2), allowing 10 runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched.  Janca was credited with the win (1-0) in relief.  Stewart finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs-batted-in in the loss.  Lasprilla’s slam gave him a 2-for-4 performance with four runs-batted-in.

It was Shane Ingram in the second game for the Chaps that silenced the Rams hitters.  He went four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in the process.  The Chaps gave him a 5-0 lead to work with after a five-run first inning.  ASU starting pitcher Scott Crook, who shutdown the Chaps earlier in the season, was unable to record an out in five batters faced to start the game.  Blondin drove in a pair of runs in the first inning and Crook was quickly replaced by Corey Moorehouse.  LCU added to the lead in the inning with a run scoring on one of four Rams errors in the game and Richard Bohlken scoring a pair with a bases-loaded double.  Bohlken was thrown out trying to extend his double to a triple and was thrown out prior to David Cruz crossing home plate, so the Chaps were held to a 5-0 lead.   Vickers replaced Ingram and pitched two hitless shutout innings, and the Chaps extended their lead in the fifth inning with a four-run inning.  The Chaps registered five consecutive hits against Rams reliever Clark McFarland, highlighted by a two-run hit by Bohlken for a four-RBI performance.  The Chaps took a 9-0 lead into the seventh inning, but the Rams wouldn’t settle for a shutout.  Kevin Burns took the mound for LCU in the seventh inning and was greeted with a trio of singles, with Lasprilla hitting a single to drive in the only Rams run of the game.

Ingram improved to 3-0 on the season with the win.  Crook fell to 2-2 with the loss.  The Chaps pitchers held ASU to four hits in the game and had a span of 11 batters faced without giving up a hit.

The first loss ended the Chaps six-game win streak and the LCU victory in the second game ended ASU’s four-game win streak.  The teams split the season series (2-2) and the doubleheader split Tuesday places LCU’s record at 17-7 on the season and ASU with a 14-11 mark on the year.

Four out of the five Lady Chaps improved on their first rounds, led by Rachel Dansby’s 6-over-par 78.  She finished in eighth place in the individual standings with a total of 157 (79,78). Kelsey Inman followed up her opening round 81 with a 6-over-par 78 also. Inman finished in a tie for 11^th place with a 159.  Macelee Lane shot a 7-over-par 79 in the second round, two strokes better than the previous day.  Lane ended up in a tie for 16^th place with a 160.  Anna Schopp finished in a tie for 32^nd (80,87 = 167) and Sinae Montoya finished in a tie for 34^th (87,81 = 168), respectively.

Jocelyn Alford of UBC won the individual title with a 4-over-par two-round total of 148 (74,74).  UBC finished with three golfers in the top-five to claim the team title by 13 strokes over host No.3 California Baptist.

LCU did finish ahead of No.16 Southern Nazarene University and No.12 Wayland Baptist University, two Sooner Athletic Conference foes.  The Lady Chaps will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. in two weeks to compete in the Mustang Intercollegiate tournament March 22-23^rd hosted by Western New Mexico University at UNM Championship Golf Course.

Chaparrals starting pitcher Frank Corolla improved to 3-1 on the season, pitching his second complete game of the season.  He held the Rangers to just three hits in the game, which was shortened to seven innings due to the run rule.  Corolla fooled with a no-hitter for the first 4 1/3 innings, until Vincent Valdez hit a double for the Rangers.  NWOSU took advantage of the hit for extra bases with Lester Gonzalez following with a single on the ensuing at-bat to score the Rangers lone run.  Corolla registered six strikeouts in the win.

The Chaps wasted no time getting their offense going.  With one out in the top of the first inning, Joe Staley followed a double from Marc Gomez with a home run for a quick 2-0 lead.  Staley’s home run was one of two for him in the game, as LCU produced five homers in the game.  Gomez and Staley produced back-to-back shots in the fifth inning, and a four-run seventh inning was highlighted by home runs from Reid Chenworth and Richard Bohlken.

Lubbock Christian out-hit NWOSU 11-3 in the game.  Jeremy Lawson, making his second start of the season, suffered the loss for the Rangers and falls to 2-1 on the year.  NWOSU is 11-6 overall with the loss and they are 2-4 in conference play.

LCU will quickly return to action Tuesday with a doubleheader against NCAA Div. II Angelo State University at Hays Field beginning with a 3 p.m. first pitch.

Frazier now has 19 home runs on the season in 20 games played, along with 50 RBI.  In the opener, LCU went back-to-back-to-back with Amanda Myers, Frazier and Priscilla FaGaines each consecutively connecting for home runs in the first inning to give LCU a 4-0 lead.  They eventually scored seven runs off seven hits in the inning for a 7-0 lead before OC had their first at-bat of the game.  The Lady Chaps added a run in the second inning and three more in the third inning with Frazier following an Amanda Myers sacrifice fly with a two-RBI single to close the Lady Chaps scoring.

Alyssa Gutierrez and Brandi Luck combined to pitch a three-hit shutout for the Lady Chaps in the opener.  Gutierrez pitched the first four innings of the five inning run-ruled shortened contest and struck out a pair of batters en route to improving her record to 10-1.

Frazier opened the scoring again in the second game with a two-run homer in the top of the first inning for a 2-0 lead.  They added to it in the inning with Latainna Eltsosie driving in a run with a single down the left field line for a 3-0 lead.  Jori Rodgers had a shaky start in the circle for the Lady Chaps, as she was only able to last 2/3 of the game after giving up two runs off five hits.  Alyssa Gutierrez replaced her but it wasn’t all smooth sailing from there.  Amy Urbanovski hit a two run homer in the bottom of the third inning for the Lady Eagles to tie the game at 4-4.  The game remained tied until Eltsosie hit a solo home run to lead off the top of the sixth inning for a 5-4 advantage.  Frazier added the insurance with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning for her third multi-home run game of the season.

Gutierrez moved to 11-1 with the win and allowed two runs off four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Frazier finished the game 2-for-3 with two homers and five runs-batted-in. 

The pair of wins places LCU’s record at 19-1 overall on the season and 7-1 in the SAC.  They return home to host University of the Southwest at 1 p.m. Wednesday at PlainsCapital Park.   

The Lady Chaps led by 11 points (57-46) with 5:10 remaining and never trailed in the game until the Stars went on a 17-4 run to take a 63-61 lead with 40 seconds remaining. Six turnovers by the Lady Chaps during the Stars scoring surge assisted the comeback, and one of the biggest ones the Lady Chaps felt they had no control of.  With three minutes remaining and LCU leading 61-55, Severyn Smith slipped through the defense to receive an inside feed and found herself all alone under the basket, but unfortunately for her, she was directly under the basket.  Smith went up for the shot and the bottom of the basket denied her shot and she came right back down with the ball.  After receiving her own rebound, she could have easily went back up for her own put-back attempt but instead logically decided to pass the ball back to the top of the zone to Brittany Hampton to reset the offense and run off a fresh shotclock… so she thought.  The clock was never reset and the shotclock expired.  The officiating crew of Darcy Schlabach, Rick Bass and Jeff Connor congregated and neither the crew nor the shotclock operator could agree that Smith ever hit the rim with her shot and the violation stood. 

Oklahoma City, who was just 4-of-22 (18.1%) from the field in the second half before the scoring binge, went 7-of-9 (77.8%) in field goals during the run.  LCU did receive a lay-up from Smith with 24 seconds left and an offensive foul by OCU’s Donica Cosby with 1.7 seconds remaining denied the Stars a chance to win in regulation and forced overtime.  The extra frame was a foul fest with Oklahoma City receiving 10 of their 16 points at the line.  Cosby dominated overtime for OCU with eight of her game-high 30 points tallied in overtime.  She had struggled from the free-throw line in regulation, going 5-of-11, but she was 6-of-6 in overtime.

A majority of OCU’s success in the game came from the free-throw line.  After opening the game shooting 45.5% in the opening half (5-of-11) from the line, Oklahoma City was 24-of-27 (88.9%) after halftime from the free-throw line, taking advantage of a 27-13 free-throw attempt advantage over LCU.  The Stars out-scored LCU 24-7 from the free-throw line after the half.

When the whistles were not blowing, the Lady Chaps dominated the play.  OCU, which averaged shooting 46.2% from the field entering the game, was held to a 36.4% (24/66) shooting percentage in the game.  LCU meanwhile shot 49.1% (28/57) from the field and shot 57.1 % (12/21) in the opening half of play.  The Lady Chaps led 32-27 at the half.

Smith led LCU with 13 points and she was joined in double-figures in points by Renee Wilson (12), April Ehlers (11), Hampton (11), Shamika Singleton (11) and Ashley Coggins (10).  For OCU, Chontaye Walter (14), KJ Johnson (11) and Lauren Gober (10) joined Cosby in double-figures.

The win was the 22^nd consecutive win for OCU and it was their fourth consecutive overtime win during the stretch.  They also messed with danger in the opening round of the tournament, defeating Southern Nazarene 75-74 Thursday.  OCU (28-3) will face Oklahoma Baptist in the conference championship game Saturday.

LCU falls to 19-11 and they have now been eliminated in the conference tournament for a fourth consecutive season by OCU, who improves to 7-0 in tournament history against LCU.  The Lady Chaps are now 8-16 all-time in SAC Tournament history.  They will now await an at-large bid to the 30^th Annual NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament, which will announce the field of teams on March 9^th.   

JBU shot the ball 60% in the opening half (15/25) and they were 46.7% (7/15) from beyond the arc.  The first half three-pointers for JBU matched the overall number of field goals the Chaps had in the first half, as they shot just 29.2% (7/24) from the field in the half.  Nine different individuals mixed into the offense for JBU in the opening half, as they led 48-25 at the half.  JBU also had a commanding 22-10 advantage in rebounds in the opening half.  Also hurting LCU in the half was personal fouls, as go-to players Douglas Williams Kenny Hewitt and Benoit Bekono were each whistled for three fouls in the half limiting their playing time.

The halftime lead was too much for the Chaps to overcome.  The closest LCU would get was 72-57 with 3:48 remaining in the second half.  LCU out-scored JBU 35-29 in the second half.

Sam Bartlett registered the double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win.  Ryland Allen and Adrian Miller each co-led the Golden Eagles with 14 points.  JBU, who ended the game shooting 55.6% from the field (25/45), improved to 23-9 on the season and they advance into Saturday’s championship game against Rogers State University.   

LCU was led by the trio of Williams, Hewitt and Justin Tatum, who each contributed 12 points.  Bekono, Martin Ombok, Tatum and Taylor Wilson are LCU seniors that played in their final college game.  The Chaps close out the season with a 14-16 record.

The opening loss snapped a 16-game win streak for the Lady Chaps, but they nearly pulled out the win in the heavily windy conditions.  St. Gregory’s produced nine hits in the opening game and all were for singles.  They led 4-0 after the third inning and pitcher Sarah Bradley, who is the only pitcher the Lady Cavs have used in every game this season, was able to hold the Lady Chaps to just two hits through six innings.  The Lady Chaps all of a sudden got to her in the seventh innings.  The Lady Chaps scored three-runs on five hits, and nearly had their leading hitter, Kim Frazier, heading to the plate with an opportunity to tie the game, but a baserunning mistake cost the Lady Chaps the opportunity.  Alyssa Gutierrez, batting in front of Frazier, hit a two-out single up the middle, but Cori Enriquez tried to advance from first to third base and was thrown out at third base.

In the second game, LCU jumped out to a 1-0 lead with Clarissa Maldonado opening a 2-for-3 performance with her first of two RBI-hits in the second inning.  The Lady Chaps also took advantage of four errors in the fifth inning, as LCU scored five runs in the inning for a 6-0 lead.  LCU received the shutout with the pitching of Jori Rodgers and Gutierrez.  Rodgers improved to 7-0 on the season pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing five hits.  Gutierrez pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to register the save.

LCU, now 17-1 on the season and 3-1 in the SAC, remains in Oklahoma Saturday for a noon doubleheader at Oklahoma Christian University.