LUBBOCK, Texas (February 15, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team tied the game in the final four minutes of the first half and was down by just two points after scoring a 3-pointer to start the second half, but a 17-1 run for the Lady Chaparrals in the third quarter was all she wrote as No. 13 nationally-ranked Lubbock Christian University defeated UTPB by a final score of 82-56 during the Lady Chaps' Senior Day inside the Rip Griffin Center.

The West Division-leading Lady Chaps made seven of their last eight field goal attempts of the first quarter and saw Audrey Robertson sink a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired to make it a 20-11 LCU lead after the first period of play.

After starting the game just 2-for-7, LCU shot 9-for-15 (60 percent) from the field in the first quarter while UTPB shot just 4-of-13.

UTPB trailed 24-11 before a midrange jumper by Avalon Munoz and a pair of transition 3-pointers by Taysha Rushton made it 24-19 early in the second quarter.

A tough turnaround jumper banked in off the glass by Rushton made it a 10-1 Falcons' run and made it a four-point game (25-21) just under three and a half minutes into the second quarter.

Rushton accounted for eight of UTPB's 11 points in the first quarter and had 16 points after scoring eight straight points early in the second quarter to help get the Falcons back into the game.

Back-to-back layups by Khiara Flugence made it a one-point deficit (26-25) as the Falcons made five of their last six field goal attempts during what was a 14-2 run at the time.

Despite finishing the first quarter on fire, LCU was just 2-for-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from three to start the second quarter until a layup by Grace Foster after the second-quarter media timeout. That ended a stretch of four minutes and 49 seconds without a made field goal for the Lady Chaps.

Foster, however, missed the ensuing free throw on her and-one attempt, and Flugence completed an and-one on the other end for UTPB to tie the game at 28-28 with 3:19 left before halftime.

In all, it was a 17-4 UTPB run to tie the game, but LCU answered the tie with two free throws by Kennedy Chappell followed by a 3-pointer by Maci Maddox to take back the momentum.

Flugence had an outstanding second quarter, scoring nine points and adding another layup with under a minute left in the first half to make it a five-point (37-32) UTPB deficit at the break.

For LCU, Foster matched Rushton with 16 points at the intermission.

After a 3-pointer by Makala Bingley on the first possession of the second half, UTPB missed its next nine shot attempts while LCU went on a 17-1 run, including at one point a 13-0 stretch which featured three straight 3-pointers by Robertson, Foster and Chappell and put the Falcons behind by 18 points (54-36) with three minutes left the third quarter.

UTPB finally stopped its nearly four-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer by Rushton. In all, UTPB went over seven and a half minutes between its first and second made field goals of the third quarter.

After the 3-pointer by Bingley to start the third quarter, LCU would outscore UTPB 21-9 for the rest of the period. UTPB was just 3-for-13 in the third quarter while LCU was 8-of-13 (61.54 percent).

LCU was then somehow even better in the fourth quarter, shooting 8-for-11 (72.73 percent) and finishing a combined 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) in the second half. The Lady Chaps shot at least 60 percent from the field in three of four quarters, were 50 percent (7-14) from three, and also dominated the boards by a margin of 38-21, a season-low in rebounds for the Falcons.

LCU's season-best 58.5 field goal percentage and 50 percent 3-point percentage were both season-highs allowed by UTPB, which also scored its lowest point total this season in conference action.

The LCU defense held Rushton and Flugence to a combined two field goals and 12 points in the second half. It was similar to the first matchup between the teams this season in which Rushton scored 17 points in the first half and eight in the second while Flugence finished as the only other Falcon to reach double digits in scoring. This one, however, was not as close at the end.

In this matchup, Rushton finished with 23 points on 7-for-19 shooting overall, was 3-for-9 from three for the second game in a row, and was 6-for-8 from the free throw line. It was her fifth-straight game scoring at least 22 points and was her third-straight with three made 3-pointers.

Flugence would finish with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

For LCU, Foster scored 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field. In the Lady Chaps' previous game, a 75-60 home win over Angelo State University, Foster recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds, becoming LCU's all-time leading scorer and the first Lady Chap to surpass 1,800 career points. Foster leads the Lone Star Conference in total points and ranks among the top-five nationally.

UTPB falls to 13-12 overall and 11-8 in the Lone Star Conference. LCU (24-3 overall), which has already been crowned as the West Division champions with a 13-0 divisional mark, stays tied for first place in the LSC standings at 18-1 and extends its current winning streak to 14 games. The Lady Chaps also capped off their home slate with a record of 13-0. After beginning the day in a three-team tie for fifth place in the LSC standings, UTPB now finds itself in a three-team tie for sixth place with three games left in the regular season. The Falcons are tied with West Texas A&M University (17-9, 11-8) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (15-10, 11-8).

"LCU is No. 13 in the country and is very good at home," spoke UTPB Head Coach Rae Boothe. "We had a solid second quarter, but the wheels came off in the second half and the game really snowballed from there. I told our team after the game that we got the one we needed to this week at MSU. That win kept us in the LSC postseason race. Now our focus has to be on next week."

UTPB will return to the Falcon Dome for its final two home games of the season next week. The Falcons will host The No. 6-ranked University of Texas at Tyler at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 20, followed by the No. 2-ranked team in NCAA Division II, Texas Woman's University, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 22.