Midwestern State at No. 14 Lubbock Christian
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 | 6 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center | Lubbock, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (1-6); Lubbock Christian (6-0)
Live Stats:  LCUChaps.com
Video: LCUChaps.com
Streaming Audio: MSUMustangs.tv 
Radio: 95.5 ESPN Wichita Falls


FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State squares off against its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season Thursday evening with a trip west to Lubbock to take on the 14th-ranked Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps in a 6 p.m. tipoff at the Rip Griffin Center.

LAST TIME OUT
– Arkansas-Fort Smith went in front 31-9 after the first quarter of play and never looked back in a 100-58 win over Midwestern State Saturday at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith
– The Lady Lions shot 54.4 percent (37-of-68) from the field including 14-of-26 from behind the arc while capitalizing on 29 Midwestern State turnovers with 40 points off turnovers in the victory
– Junior guard Jacquar Westbrooks and sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett each recorded 12 points for the Mustangs, who were held to 35.6 shooting (21-of-59) shooting from the field in their fourth-straight defeat
 
SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS
– Lubbock Christian has continued to climb the USA Today NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll after a 6-0 start to the season
– The Lady Chaps have three players averaging double figures in scoring with 6-4 sophomore post Tess Bruffey (15.0 ppg), senior point guard Nicole Hampton (12.8 ppg) and senior guard Kelsey Hoppel (12.8 ppg)
– Hampton has been an all-around player for LCU in the early going, leading the Lady Chaps in rebounds (8.3), assists (4.0) and steals (2.67) per game
– Hoppel has been dangerous behind the arc for the Lady Chaps this season having already knocked down 20 three-pointers in 41 attempts, ranking 20th nationally with 3.33 triples per game
– Hoppel has helped LCU rank 11th in the nation with a 42.5 percentage (45-of-106) from long range
– LCU is shooting 48.1 percent (154-of-320) from the floor for 12th in the country while holding teams to a 31.0 percentage (117-of-377) for ninth
– The Lady Chaps are averaging 76.0 points per game while limiting the opposition to 51.7 points for 10th-best in the nation
– Head coach Steve Gomez is in his 13th season with the LCU women's basketball program, leading the Lady Chaps to a record of 286-104 (.733)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State holds a 21-6 advantage in the all-time series against Lubbock Christian
– The two teams have met just once since the 1993-94 season with the Mustangs recording a 73-70 win last year in Wichita Falls
– The Mustangs are winners of the last 11 in the series and hold a 7-4 record in games played in Lubbock
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State fell to 1-6 on the season after its fourth-straight loss Saturday to UAFS
– Sophomore guard Krishawn Crockett leads the Mustangs with 7.6 points while sophomore guard Whitney Taylor is adding 7.0 points, but has been sidelined the last three contests
– Freshman post McKenna Villegas is averaging 6.7 points and 5.1 boards, shooting a team-high 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from the field
– Freshman forward Kendriana Washington leads the Mustangs with 6.3 rebounds per game, pulling down a season-best nine rebounds against Colorado State-Pueblo and Southern Nazarene
– Villegas has been the MSU leader on the offensive glass with 14 boards, recording a season-high six offensive rebounds against CSU-Pueblo
– As a team, Midwestern is scoring 48.6 points per game while opponents have put up an average of 66.4 points per outing, shooting 43.1 percent (175-of-406) from the field compared to the Mustangs' 31.6 percentage (122-of-386)
– Turnovers have haunted the youthful Mustangs team early this season with an average of 21.9 miscues per game
 
LONG ROAD STRETCH
– Midwestern State embarks on a six-game road swing that will cover three states with matchups in Texas, Arkansas and Nevada through the remainder of 2015 and the opening week of 2016
– The Mustangs return to D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Jan. 9 with their Lone Star Conference home opener against Eastern New Mexico, a span of 46 days since their last home game against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 24
 
MUSTANGS THIRD IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
– Midwestern State was tabbed third in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media representatives
– The Mustangs totaled 157 points behind preseason favorite West Texas A&M (220) and Texas Woman's (171)
– West Texas A&M collected 23 of the 25 first place votes while Texas Woman's and Cameron each tallied one vote
– The Mustangs went 12-4 to earn the No. 2 seed in the LSC postseason tournament last season
 
THE JOHNSON ERA
– Noel Johnson enters her eighth season at the helm of the Mustangs women's basketball program
– Johnson has led MSU to a 113-84 record (.574) with four-straight winning seasons and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances
– During Johnson's tenure, the Mustangs claimed their first NCAA Tournament wins in 2013 with victories over rival Tarleton State and Metro State (Colo.) before falling to No. 4 Colorado Mesa in the regional final
– That season, Johnson guided the Maroon and Gold to a 26-6 record, the second-most wins in school history, and a Lone Star Conference Championship, the first in 12 seasons
– Johnson garnered Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2012 before earning Texas Association of Basketball Coaches' Small College Coach of the Year accolades in 2013
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State will take off for final exams the next two weeks before traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, Dec. 18-19, at South Point Arena at the South Point Hotel & Casino
– The Mustangs will take on Western Washington and Stonehill (Mass.) in their western road swing