Midwestern State at No. 15 Lubbock Christian

Thursday, Feb. 3 – 5:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 23-8

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Midwestern State (10-8, 4-4 LSC) faces No. 15 Lubbock Christian (18-4, 7-3 LSC) in Thursday's Lone Star Conference match. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Rip Griffin Center.

SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS

Lubbock Christian's three Lone Star Conference losses were against Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas A&M-Commerce and Angelo State. All three losses were on the road, maintaining the team's 99 home game win streak. The team most recently drew a 75-51 win over Oklahoma Christian.  The Lady Chaps rank at number 15 in this week's national D2SIDA poll and number three in the South Central region.
 
Allie Schulte is the leading scorer for Lubbock Christian. The graduate senior averages 12.7 points on 51 percent shooting from the field. Schulte adds 36 percent shooting from behind the arc. The guard's 89 free throw percent leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 15th in the NCAA. She averages 3.5 rebounds and adds nine blocks. Schulte leads the LSC with 74 steals (3.36/game) and ranks second in Division II. She earned 78 assists to sit third in the conference while her assist turnover ratio of 2.44 is second in the league and 16th in DII. Schulte was named Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 15 and 19 and LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 22.
 
Juliana Robertson leads the Lady Chaps with 6.9 rebounds per game. Her 151 total rebounds sit fourth in the Lone Star Conference. The forward adds 6.5 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the field. Robertson is 23-of-33 from the free throw line. She collected a team second-best 16 blocks in 22 starts. The graduate student totaled 40 assists and 27 steals. Robertson was named Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Dec. 13.
 
Ashton Duncan is LCU's top three-point shooter. The guard ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference with 2.55 three-pointers per game and a 33.5 shooting percent. Duncan shoots 36 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line. The graduate senior averages 10.5 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Lady Chaps. She adds 23 assists and 20 steals in 22 starts.
 
Channing Cunyus started all 22 games for Lubbock Christian. The senior averages 8.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. She shoots 47 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the arc. Cunyus is 30-of-38 (0.789) from the line. The 5'9" guard adds 40 assists and 27 steals.
 
Laynee Burr rounds out the starting five for LCU. The senior shoots 46 percent from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc. Burr adds an 82 percent shooting from the free throw line. She collects 8.4 points and three rebounds per game. The guard owns the second-highest assists with 51. Burr notched 27 steals and six blocks.

BLOCKED

After Midwestern State collected five team blocks in Saturday's game against Cameron, the team still stands at the top of the ranks with 93 blocks. Through 19 games, MSU leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 12th in Division II in total blocks. Their 5.2 blocks per game also lead the LSC and sit 12th in the NCAA. Hannah Reynolds and Mandy Withey led the way against the Aggies with two blocks each. The team has at least one block in every game of the season thus far. The best performance was on Dec. 16 versus Texas A&M-Commerce when they picked up ten blocks.

TOP SIX

MSU ranks in the top six of the Lone Star Conference in three other categories. The team is sixth in the conference with 18.67 forced turnovers. Morgan Lenahan leads the Mustangs with 32 steals on the season. The team won seven of eight games when their opponents have 20 or more turnovers. Midwestern State also holds sixth place with a 31.8 three-point conversion percentage. Lenahan shoots 43 percent from behind the arc while Sheridan Bostic follows at 38 percent. MSU ranks fifth in the LSC with 26.7 defensive rebounds per game. Lenahan averages 5.3 per game while Reynolds records 5.0.
 

MUSTANG STARTING FIVE

Morgan Lenahan is the leading scorer for the Mustangs with a conference seventh-highest 14.8 points. The senior led with 14 points against Cameron on Saturday. Her best performance was 31 points at UT Permian Basin on Jan. 15. The guard shoots 40 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Lenahan averages six rebounds per game and totals six blocks. The Haddonfield, N.J., native holds 58 assists in 18 starts.

Frances King averages 12.4 points per game with a career-high 25 points posted against Texas Wesleyan (11/28). Against the Aggies, she had her first game of the season without any points. The sophomore recently set the single-game record for assists against St. Mary's on Jan. 8. With her 13 assists, King overtook Mindy Myers' 1994 record of 13. The guard's 84 total assists lead the league while sitting 27th in Division II. Her average of 4.7 assists also tops the Lone Star Conference and ranks 34th in the NCAA. King shoots 37 percent from the field and 19 percent from behind the arc. Her 82 percent free throw shooting sits fourth in the LSC and her 76 free throws made lead the conference. The Rockdale, Texas, product averages 3.6 rebounds and holds 31 steals.

Hannah Reynolds leads Midwestern State in rebounding with 6.5 per game. The senior's 42 total blocks rank third in the LSC and 14th in Division II. Her average 2.47 blocks per game sits second in the Lone Star Conference and 14th in the NCAA. Reynolds continues her ownership as Midwestern State's all-time leading blocker. The forward collected 197 blocks (1.8/game) over her 111 game career. Reynolds averages ten points per game and tallied a career-high 24 points against St. Mary's on Jan. 8. The Prosper, Texas, native is only four points away from 1,000 points and three blocks away from 200 blocks.

Shawnisay Millar has started all 18 games for the Mustangs. The junior averages 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Against Cameron, she notched nine points and four rebounds. The forward shoots 47 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc. At the line, Millar is 35-of-52. She adds eight blocks and five steals on the year.

Markayla Johnson rounds out the starting five for MSU. The sophomore averages 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds. She shoots 37 percent from the floor and 26 percent from behind the arc. The guard knocked down 8-of-16 attempts from the free throw line. The team's defensive guru completed a career-high ten points against Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 23. The Huntsville, Texas, native secured 11 blocks and 23 steals on the season.

THE MAN IN CHARGE

Christopher Reay is in his second season at the helm of his alma mater. In the shortened COVID 2020-21 season, Reay guided the Mustangs to an 11-7 record. In his first year at the reins, the Mustangs went 11-5 in Lone Star Conference play. The team finished fifth in the standings and reached the quarterfinals in the postseason tournament. In addition, Reay led MSU to a 4-6 mark over the final 10 games in 2019-20 serving in an interim role following Noel Johnson's leave of absence to continue her fight against ovarian cancer. His career coaching record stands at 25-21 (.543). Reay served as the top assistant for 10 campaigns, guiding MSU to three consecutive NCAA Division II South Central Regionals from 2012-15. In that time, MSU claimed a Lone Star Conference regular and postseason tournament title in 2012-13. Reay competed two seasons at Midwestern State in 2006-07 and 2007-08. After transferring from SMU, he helped MSU to an LSC postseason tournament championship and a regional semifinal appearance in 2007.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Since 1982, Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian complied a 23-8 record with MSU in the advantage. This included a 13-game win streak from 1991 to 2014. LCU currently rides a four game win-streak against the Mustangs since 2015. The Lady Chaps also hold 99 consecutive home wins. Midwestern State is 7-6 when playing in Lubbock, Texas, with the last win in 1994. Lubbock Christian holds a 2-0 Lone Star Conference advantage. In the last match-up between the two teams, LCU took the 84-54 victory in 2021.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State continues the road trip with a stop in Portales, N.M. The Mustangs take on Eastern New Mexico, who sit one spot below on the conference standings. The Greyhounds host the Lone Star Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. MST and 3 p.m. CST.