TULSA, Oklahoma (February 28, 2018) - The Texas A&M International University Women's Basketball team will open the 2018 Heartland Conference Championship on Thursday night. The Dustdevils will face the #1 seed and nations #2 team in Lubbock Christian at 7:30 p.m.

FOLLOW LIVE:
Live stats and live video will both be available throughout the 2018 Heartland Conference Championship. To follow Thursday's game, click the corresponding link below. 

LIVE VIDEO    LIVE STATS

THIRD YEAR AT THE UMAC:
The Heartland Conference Basketball Tournament returns to the Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC) in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the third straight year. The UMAC is a 5,662-seat multipurpose arena located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Built in 2003 at a cost of $22 million, it is the home of the Union High School Redskins basketball team. The Heartland Conference Championship will be held at the UMAC through the transition to the Lone Star Conference in 2019-20. 

DUSTDEVILS IN THE TOURNAMENT:
The 2017-18 season marks the third straight Heartland Conference Tournament appearance for the Dustdevils and sixth all-time appearance in the tournament. TAMIU has fallen to St. Edward's University in the quarterfinal game for the past two seasons.

The Dustdevils last semi-final appearance was in the 2013-14 season after earning a first round bye. After falling in the semi-final, TAMIU advanced to their first NCAA South Central Regional game where they fell to Tarleton State. 

SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS:
TAMIU will take on Lubbock Christian University for the third time this season to open the tournament. Lubbock Christian earned the #1 seed after completing a perfect 14-0 Heartland season. The Dustdevils fell to the Lady Chaps on January 4 (53-73) and February 3 (49-69) earlier in the season. 

The Lady Chaps bring a 25-1 record into the tournament with their last loss coming to #1 Ashland on November 24, 2017. 

LCU is averaging 71.6 points per game this season while the Lady Chap defense is holding opponents to 51.8 points per game. On the season, LCU is shooting 47% from the field and 37.5% from behind the arc. 

Tess Bruffey leads the Lady Chaps in scoring this season, putting up 397 points for an average of 15.3 points per game. Bruffey also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 8.5 boards per game. 

A LOOK AT THE DUSTDEVILS:
The Dustdevils are entering play after a regular season finale loss to St. Mary's (64-71) on February 24. TAMIU will enter play at 3-25 with a Heartland record of 1-13. TAMIU picked up their first conference win on February 21 at St. Edward's University (49-47). 

The Dustdevils are averaging 58.9 points per game this season while shooting 36.5% from the field and 24.8% from behind the arc. 

Tantashea Giger leads the team in scoring and rebounding through 28 games this season. Giger has scored 383 points this season while averaging 14.7 points per game. The Junior has pulled in 179 rebounds while posting an average of 6.9 rebounds per game. 

DUSTDEVILS vs. LADY CHAPS | THE ALL-TIME SERIES:
The Dustdevils and Lady Chaps have met 10 times in program history. After two losses in the 2017-18 season, the Dustdevils sit at just one win against the Lady Chaps nine. Thursday night's game marks the 11th all-time meeting between the programs and the first meeting in postseason history.