LUBBOCK, Texas – SWOSU Women's Basketball made their way west to face Division II powerhouse and No. 5/11-ranked Lubbock Christian on Tuesday in the final game of November. A late fourth quarter push by the Lady Chaps sealed a hard-fought win for the home team, as the Lady Bulldogs fell by a final score of 67-59.
The first quarter showed that SWOSU was not going to back away from any challenge, starting 3-for-3 from the field and jumping ahead 7-0 within just two minutes of game time. SWOSU turned over the home team three times in their first four possessions, which set an early tone. The quarter ended with SWOSU holding a 10-point lead at 23-13, going 5-8 from three-point land and shooting 56.3 percent from the field.
Averi Zinn led the way for the Lady Dawgs to maintain the lead going into half. She scored eight total points in the first half, six of them coming in the second quarter. The Lady Bulldogs also found success by forcing LCU into nine first half turnovers with an 11-2 advantage on points off turnovers at the break.
In the third quarter SWOSU saw its lead dwindle down until LCU took their first lead of the game at 42-41 with about three minutes to play. SWOSU shot just 3-16 in the quarter and didn't make a three after making six in the first half. Despite this, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves with a 47-46 lead going into the final frame after two
Layni Zinn free throws with two seconds to go in the quarter.
Layni (Zinn) made it five straight points for her with a three ball in the first possession of the final quarter, but LCU responded right back with one of their own to keep the game at a one-point margin. This started a back-and-forth trend that would keep the game within one possession for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. LCU eventually extended their lead to a five-point game at 60-55 with about four minutes to go which proved to be too much for the Lady Dawgs to overcome down the stretch.
SWOSU shot just 7-of-31 from the field in the second half and scored 23 total points – matching their scoring output from the first quarter.
Final numbers had SWOSU shooting at 33.9% from the field while LCU finished at 42.4%. Both teams made 11 free throws, SWOSU shot one additional attempt. The Lady Bulldogs forced 13 turnovers, marking the first time this season they did not finish with 20 or more.
Layni (Zinn) led the team with 13 points.
Hailey Grant added 12 of her own as the only other SWOSU player in double figures. Averi (Zinn) added eight points with five assists and five rebounds to go along with three steals.
SWOSU will now regroup and look forward to the start of GAC play when they host Harding, the league's preseason favorite, on Thursday, December 5th at 5:30 pm inside the PEC.
