GCU falls to No. 20 Seattle Pacific, 58-53

Tuesday, December 29

San Diego, CA

L 58-53

Grand Canyon

5-5

Seattle Pacific^^

8-2

Grand Canyon

Seattle Pacific

12/29/2009 11:16:24 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Grand Canyon (5-5) battled back from double-digit margins in the first and second half, but weren’t able to come all the way back in a 58-53 loss to No. 20 Seattle Pacific at RIMAC Arena in the UCSD Triton Classic Tuesday.

GCU (5-5) trailed 14-0 in the first half and rallied to get as close as 37-34 with 11:40 left in the game. Seattle Pacific (8-2) jumped back up to a 15-point margin with just 2:09 left, but the ‘Lopes held the Falcons scoreless the rest of the way.

Grand Canyon had beaten the nationally-ranked Falcons earlier this season in Nampa, Idaho, 69-55.

“We did a good job fighting back,” said Grand Canyon coach Trent May. “It’s great to have that fighting mentality, but it’s hard to keep digging out of such big holes. We’re one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the nation and we didn’t shoot well at the free-throw line tonight.

“We put ourselves in winning opportunities, but we didn’t seize them by not shooting well.”

Senior guard Shareka Purnell (Dale City, Va./C.D. Hylton/UALR) led the ‘Lopes with 14 points, five assists and six steals.

Junior center Kia Gibson (Nine Mile Falls, Wash./Lakeside/No. Idaho) had 12 points. Junior guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep) had 11 points. Senior Ashley Hardin (pictured, Phoenix, Ariz./Marcos de Niza/N. Arizona) had a team-high six rebounds and added nine points.

GCU travels to Orange County, Calif. for a 1 p.m. game Thursday against Metro State in the Trip Sports Classic.