Grand Canyon opens with impressive win

Friday, November 12

Anaheim, CA

5:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0

Texas Woman's

0-1

Grand Canyon

Texas Woman's Univ

Jazmyn Foster

11/12/2010 9:58:21 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Four score in double figures

By: Steve Heath

Grand Canyon took advantage of a great start to get off to a great start to the 2010-11 season.
Leading by as much as 21 in the first half (42-21), Grand Canyon’s women’s basketball team defeated Texas Woman’s University 76-69 in the first game of the season in the opener of the Fourth Annual Division II Disney Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Friday.

GCU (1-0) will take on Alaska-Anchorage (1-0), a 74-62 winner over UC San Diego, at noon (PDT) Saturday.

Shooting 53.1 percent for the first 20 minutes, with many made baskets coming off transition, GCU quickly turned a 7-3 deficit into a 26-11 lead. Though TWU got within five points in the second half, GCU never trailed after a Rosalyn Nelson (Phoenix, AZ, Deer Valley) free throw put them up 8-7.

“Our defense dictated our offense and we came out with a lot of energy,” Nelson said. “When our defense is on the shots are going to fall on offense.”

Off a Nelson steal, Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ, Xavier Prep) scored for a 10-7 lead. Another turnover led to the first of three straight buckets from junior Stevie Kamp (Mesa, Ariz., Mountain View, Nova Southeastern).

“I liked our defense for the first 15 minutes of the game,” said coach Trent May. “That was the big difference.

“This was a great start for us. Our veterans have been around the game long enough; they held their composure (when the game got closer). We have some new players, but they’re not new to the game.”

GCU’s great start was too much for the Pioneers to come back from. Every time they’d inch closer someone in a ‘Lopes uniform would have an answer.

With still 18:28 left in the game, TWU had cut it to 44-38, but Murphy answered with a trey and sophomore Jazmyn Foster (Phoenix, Ariz., Thunderbird, New Mexico State) scored shortly after to bump the margin back to 11.

When the lead was cut to 61-55, Nelson answered first, and then frosh Maylinn Smith (Gilbert, Ariz., Mesquite) hit a 3-pointer to up the advantage back to 66-55 with 5:26 to go.

Cut to five with 4:23 left, Katie Johnson (Phoenix, AZ, Deer Valley, South Mountain CC) knocked down two free throws and Murphy scored off of a turnover to up it back to nine. Then, the final big defensive play put the icing on win No. 1 of 2010-11.

Leading 70-64 and a little over one minute remaining, Murphy blocked a close-in shot by TWU’s Tabbatha Thurmond and the ‘Lopes hit their final six free throws to seal it.

“I got lucky, I guess,” said Murphy of her blocked shot, one of only two by the Antelopes. “I tried to stay away from her body as much as possible. When the game gets tight like that, you have to buckle down.”

Murphy, the program’s all-time leading scorer, had 25 points, six rebounds and three steals. She is only 14 points away from becoming GCU’s first 1,400-point scorer.

Nelson, in her first game back since injuring her knee in the 2008-09 season, had 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. She is only four points away from 1,200 for her career.

Foster, in her first game since the 2006-07 season at New Mexico State, had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

“We came out relaxed,” said Foster, noting the team’s recent exhibition games with Division I opponents, Arizona and UNLV, helped the team prepare for Friday’s opener. “The first (win) is always the sweetest.”

Smith finished with 11 points. Junior Joslynn Frazier (Sacramento, Calif., Burbank, College of Canyons) tied Foster for team-high rebound honors with nine.

TWU was led by Jeanee’ Thompson with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Box Score