LAWTON, Okla. – While snow was falling outside the Aggie Gym on Saturday, inside, the Cameron women's basketball team and their fans were fired up after a 66-62 win over Lubbock Christian.
The Aggies found themselves in a defensive battle with LCU, who was receiving votes in the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches Association top-25 poll, as neither team was on their game offensively. The Lady Chaps held CU to shoot just 40.7 percent from the floor, while CU forced their opposition into 19 turnovers, nine of which came on steals. However, Cameron was strong from the perimeter and the foul line, going 9-23 from deep while hitting on nine of their 10 free throw attempts
Despite getting in early foul trouble,
Lejha Smith had a solid day operating in the post for CU, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds in just 16 minutes on the court.
Maighan Hedge chipped in 11 points and three assists off the bench, including a trio of clutch three-point shots, while
Natalie Halbleib added 10 points on 4-9 shooting from the field to go along with a team-high three steals.
The first quarter was back and forth, as Lubbock Christian answered a pair of CU runs to stay within one point, 19-18, after 10 minutes of play. In the second, the Aggies outscored their opponent 14-11 in a defensive battle.
Chelsea Heidebrecht led Cameron with eight points at the half, while Smith had already scored six of her 12. Olivia Robertson had a game-high 10 points for LCU after 20 minutes of action.
The Black and Gold got into another defensive battle in the third quarter, but still outscored the Lady Chaps 14-12, thanks to a three pointer from Hedge with just 22 seconds left. Smith got things started in the fourth by getting a layup to fall, extending CU's lead to eight, but LCU kept things interesting by scoring 15 straight to take a 56-49 lead with just 4:08 to play.
Cameron answered LCU's run with an 11-4 stretch, capped by an
Ava Battese three, to tie the game at 60 with just over a minute to play. The Lady Chaps then went back on top with a layup from Allie Schulte, and after a CU turnover, got back possession with just over 30 seconds left in the game. The Black and Gold defense stepped up again and forced another turnover, which led to a clutch three from Halbleib to put her team back up by one with just 26 second on the clock. The Aggies were able to get key stops in the final second and went 3-4 from the charity stripe to secure the upset win.
Robertson finished with a game-high 16 points for LCU, while Bobbi Chitsey chipped in 14. As a team, Lubbock Christian shot just 29.4 percent from the perimeter and went 9-13 from the free throw line.
The Aggies now sit at 3-6 on the season, while the Lady Chaps move to 7-4 with the loss. Cameron's next test will be on Tuesday Dec. 18, when they travel to San Antonio, Texas to take on another futures Lone Star Conference opponent in St. Mary's.
