LUBBOCK, Texas – The young McMurry University women's basketball team ran into a buzz saw on Monday evening in facing the NAIA's No.-1 ranked team, Lubbock Christian University. The War Hawks (0-2) dropped the road contest by a 91-64 score to the Lady Chaps (6-0) at the Rip Griffin Center.
McM got most of its pop from the bench, as the only three players in double-digit scoring came into the game as reserves…and all were freshmen.
Ana Dominguez led the trio, with a team-high 14 points, hitting 6-of-11 from the field. Dominguez also registered six rebounds and three blocks, both War Hawk-leading numbers as well.
Fellow freshman
Claire Bruffey added 12 points on an efficient 5-of-10 night from the floor. Bruffey was also 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Sierra Maykus was also on target from the field, hitting 4-of-8. Among those was a McM best 3-of-5 effort from long distance, good for 11 points.
Senior guard
Rikeita Thomas was the top scorer among the starters with eight points. Thomas was 4-for-6 from the field and grabbed five boards, while also dishing off four assists.
The War Hawks found themselves down at the intermission by a 50-23 margin. However, in the second stanza played the LCU even (41-41). McMurry actually forced the Lady Chaps into 20 turnovers in the contest (McM had 19).
Lubbock Christian shot a blistering 69 percent (20-29) in the first half, eventually finishing the night with a field goal percentage of nearly 60 percent (34-57). Conversely, McMurry hit just 27 percent (9-33) in the opening segment and heated up in the second half (49 percent/17-35).
McM struggled from long range as a team by connecting on just 6-of-20 attempts (30 percent). The Lady Chaps shot nearly as well from beyond the arc as they did overall, draining nearly 53 percent (9-17) of their trey tries.
McMurry will try to notch its first win of its NCAA Division II era this weekend, when it travels to the Midwestern State Classic. The War Hawks will face Fort Lewis College on Friday (5 p.m.) and Colorado School of the Mines on Saturday (5 p.m.)
