(5) CAMERON VS. (1) LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN - NCAA DII SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
Friday, March 5 at 4 p.m. | First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas
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LAWTON – For the third time in program history, the Aggie women's basketball program is in the NCAA DII Women's Basketball Tournament and begins play on Saturday with a South Central Region semifinal matchup against No. 1 and top-seed Lubbock Christian. 

STARTING 5:
1. This is just the third time the Aggies have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament with the last time coming in 2015 when head coach Emma Andrew was CU's assistant.

2. Unlike most seasons, Cameron is doing something they are familiar with this year, playing a team in back-to-back games; they are 4-2 on the season in the second game of two straight against the same opponent.

3. Despite playing the top ranked Lady Chaps in the Lone Star Conference semifinal, the Aggies' pressure didn't let up, as
they forced 18 LCU turnovers with 10 of those coming via steals.

4. In the previous matchup against LCU, freshman Katie King made a case to be considered for the LSC All-Tournament team, putting up 18 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting from the field with 12 of her points coming off made three-pointers.

5. Lubbock Christian remained perfect on the year with the winning of the LSC Championship last Saturday, but they do not get the benefit of playing on their home court, where they have won a Division II record 91 straight games, for the NCAA South Central Regional.

ABOUT THE AGGIES:
Cameron enters the NCAA Tournament with an 11-7 record, which in a COVID-19 pandemic effected season is the second most of the entire bracket, including fellow regional member Southern Nazarene. However, the Aggies rattled off eight of their 11 wins in the final two months of the season behind increased defensive pressure and a hot-hand from three-point range. The Aggies have forced over 15 turnovers in each of the last 10 games and have made 10 or more threes six times during that span. They come in to the semifinal matchup scoring 70.1 points per game while shooting 37.6 percent from the floor and 33 percent from long range. CU has had trouble on the boards, getting out-rebounded by an average of 8.2 per game, but make up for it in the turnover battle, where they own a 5.9 turnover margin. When junior Maighan Hedge is on her game, there is no-one in the nation that can stop her. The Melbourne, Australia native is averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per outing while shooting 37 percent from three and 87 percent from the charity stripe. King's 18-point outing bumped her scoring average to 8.4, while Kiara Lovings is puring in 7.9 points per outing. King and Hedge are two of three Aggies averaging over 1.5 steals per outing, with senior Logan Collyer (1.7) being the third. 

CAMERON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
The Aggies will be making their third appearance in the big dance on Saturday, making it in both 2015 and 2002. In 2015, with Coach Andrews as an assistant coach, CU made the Regional as an eight-seed and lost to top-seed West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas 80-61. In 2002, Cameron won their first round meeting against Angelo State in St. Joseph, Mo. before falling to St. Mary's in the second round.  

SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS:
After beating Cameron in the LSC semifinal, Lubbock Christian went on to win the conference Championship with a win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Emma Middleton was named the tournament MVP, while Allie Schulte and Channing Cunyus were also named to the All-Tournament team. The undefeated Lady Chaps are scoring 74 points per game and allowing just 47. Their free throw percentage (.820) ranks among the tops in the country as well as most of their stats. Schulte leads the squad with 14.4 points per game, while Middleton is averaging 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds for LCU. 

LSC SEMIFINAL MATCHUP:
In their first postseason matchup last week, Cameron hung with the Lady Chaps through the first 20 minutes of action trailing by six at the break. However, a big third quarter allowed the home team to break it open and win the game 84-69. The Aggies knocked down 13 three pointers and shot 38.2 percent from the floor, but were just 14-21 from the charity stripe, while LCU made 26 of their 31 attempts from the foul line. The Lady Chaps controlled the battle on the glass 39-27, but won the turnover distribution 15-18. King led CU with 18 points, four assists, and two steals, while Lovings added 11 off the bench and Logan Collyer had six points, three assists, and four steals. Four LCU players reached double-figures with Ashton Duncan leading the way with 19 points and five made triples of LCU's 10 made triples. 

AGAINST THE BRACKET:
Cameron has played all four of the remaining teams in the regional bracket multiples times in their long standing history. Cameron is now 9-4 against LCU and is 23-29 all-time against the third Lone Star Conference member in the bracket, Texas A&M-Commerce. Cameron is 12-1 against the Lion's opponent Southern Nazarene and 13-26 against Southwestern Oklahoma, who is the two-seed in the regional and received a first round bye; they will play the winner of the SNU and Commerce game.