CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M close out the regular season on the road on Saturday afternoon as they make their way down I-27 for a Rivalry on the Range showdown with the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps, tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock.
 
LCU RECAP
The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M dropped their regular season home finale on Thursday night as the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps used a balanced scoring attack to pick up a 71-60 Lone Star Conference divisional victory in front of over 1,600 fans at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. 
 
Nyalam Thabach led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the junior from Boise, Idaho went 8-of-16 from the floor including 1-of-2 from deep and 3-of-4 from the free throw line for a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Karley Motschenbacher and Lauren Taylor chipped in 12 points each as Motschenbacher grabbed 10 boards to go along with three assists and two steals for the double-double.
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY CHAPS
The Lady Chaps enter the regular season finale with an overall mark of 21-8 with a 16-5 record in LSC action following a 71-60 victory over the Lady Buffs on Thursday in Canyon to run their win streak to six games. LCU sits atop of the West division standings by a half game over Angelo State.
 
Grace Foster leads the way offensively for the Lady Chaps as the sophomore guard from Childress has gone 150-of-335 (44.8%) from the floor including 38-of-107 (35.5%) from behind the arc and 108-of-119 (90.8%) from the free throw line to average 15.4 points per game to go along with 268 rebounds, 59 assists, 16 steals and 23 blocks.
 
LCU finished the 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 28-7 as they went 12-4 in Lone Star Conference action, advancing to the semifinals of the LSC Championships in Frisco followed by a run to the South Central Regional Finals before falling to the Lady Buffs, 59-54 at the FUBC in Canyon.
 
LCU HEAD COACH STEVE GOMEZ
Steve Gomez is now in his 20th season at the helm of the Lubbock Christian women's basketball program, holding an overall record of 497-140 during his time in Lubbock. He has led the Lady Chaps to three NCAA Division II National Championships since transitioning from the NAIA in 2013. A 1988 graduate of Lubbock Christian, Gomez was a standout student-athlete for the Chaps where he still holds the program record for career free throw percentage.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday night marks the 14th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Lady Chaps as LCU holds the 8-5 series lead. WT has won three of the last five meetings in the series, LCU took the first meeting this season on Thursday night in Canyon, 71-60. The Lady Buffs are 0-5 all-time at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
WBCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Ashland picked up all 23 first place votes for a total of 575 points to remain atop of the poll followed by Drury (550), Tampa (527), Glenville State (496), Grand Valley State (485), Cal State Dominguez Hills (436), Nebraska Kearney (418), Eckerd (375), Minnesota Duluth (364) and Central Missouri (340) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by Texas Woman's (12th), Colorado School of Mines (17th) and Angelo State (RV).
 
WT HEAD COACH JOSH PROCK
Josh Prock enters his second season at the helm of the Lady Buff Basketball program after guiding WT to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight during his first season in Maroon & White, finishing the campaign with an overall record of 26-11 as WT claimed the LSC Regular Season and Tournament Titles followed by a run to the South Central Regional Championship.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Lady Buffs since January 26, 2002. The Lady Buffs are a staggering 272-37 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 87.7%. WT has averaged 1,025 fans per contest since the facility opened its doors with the largest crowd coming on Opening Night with 4,941 members of Buff Nation seeing the Lady Buffs take on rival Abilene Christian.
 
LSC BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Buffs picked up 31 of the possible 39 first place votes for a total of 612 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Lubbock Christian (four first place, 557), Texas Woman's (four first place, 538), Angelo State (519), UT Tyler (479), Texas A&M-Kingsville (408), Texas A&M International (371), Cameron (347), Midwestern State (314), Eastern New Mexico (233), St. Edward's (219), UAFS (216), UT Permian Basin (172), Oklahoma Christian (154), St. Mary's (94) and Western New Mexico (71).
 
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 women's teams in two divisions. Each team will play a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against the opposite division for a total of 22 LSC games.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of Division II.
 
The 2021-22 campaign saw WT claimed six Lone Star Conference Championships, three LSC Tournament crowns, two Regional Championships and four Top-5 track and field finishes including the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Women's National Championship. 2022-23 has already started off on a high-note as WT Volleyball claimed the program's fourth National Title in early December.
 
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
The West Texas A&M Lady Buffs sit eighth in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball South Central Regional Rankings announced on Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA's headquarters.
 
Colorado School of Mines sits atop of the regional poll followed by Angelo State, Texas Woman's, Black Hills State, Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Tyler, West Texas A&M, Regis and Westminster.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The contest will be broadcasted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. For more information, visit the Women's Basketball Schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.