After two convincing wins in the GCU/Crowne Plaza Thanksgiving Classic, Grand Canyon moved closer, point-wise, to entering the USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
With a 75-57 win over Lake Superior State and 79-53 victory against CSU Dominguez Hills, Grand Canyon received 55 votes/points in this week’s poll. It had 49 last week. Though the ‘Lopes fell from third to fourth on the list of others receiving votes, they are closer to the No. 25 spot.
Francis Marion holds the No. 25 position with 66 points. Last week, GCU was 27 points behind No. 25 Minnesota State Mankato (76).
The Antelopes will play No. 5 Seattle Pacific Friday in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge in St. George, Utah. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. On Saturday, they will play Northwest Nazarene at 1 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge by clicking on the live stats link on the GCULopes.com home page and women’s basketball page calendars or on the women’s basketball schedule page.
Senior guard
Rosalyn Nelson (Phoenix, AZ, Deer Valley) goes into this week’s action only eight points shy of tying former GCU standout Jennifer Cobb, who starred from 2002-07, for second on the all-time scoring list. Cobb finished her career with 1,281. Nelson, already the program’s leader in assists and steals, has 1,273 points. Senior guard
Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ, Xavier Prep) is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,554 points.
GCU (6-1) has won five straight since losing to then-No. 13 Alaska-Anchorage in the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif. The streak started with a 120-118 triple overtime win over then-No. 11 UC San Diego on Nov. 14. Murphy scored a school-record 49 points in the win.
USA Today/ESPN Poll