GCU Women Say Goodbye To Gym With 15th Straight Victory, Head to Hawaii-Hilo 23-2

Monday, February 21

GCU

5:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

23-2, 11-1

Notre Dame de Namur

8-14, 5-8

Notre Dame de Namur

Grand Canyon

Freshman Jenna Pearson had seven points in Monday's 78-47 win over Notre Dame de Namur.

GCU Women Say Goodbye To Gym With 15th Straight Victory, Head to Hawaii-Hilo 23-2

2/21/2011 9:32:20 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

First team to finish unbeaten at home

By: Steve Heath

Grand Canyon achieved a preseason goal Monday.

With a 78-47 victory over Notre Dame de Namur at Antelope Gymnasium; the team became the first to finish an entire season unbeaten at home.

The 10th-ranked Antelopes (23-2, 11-1) won for the 14th time this season - the final season at Antelope Gymnasium - and for the 15th consecutive time on the home floor.

"Tonight was really special," said head coach Trent May. "A goal this year was to go undefeated at home and now we get to cross that off the list of things done."

GCU also tied the mark for wins in a season. The 2006-07 team finished 23-4. The Antelopes have four more regular-season games remaining, all are on the road.

The nation's leading scorer, Samantha Murphy, had a game-high 29 points, including 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. She also had six steals. She'll head into Saturday's game at Hawaii-Hilo only five points shy of 2,000 for her career.

Junior Jallisa Butler had her team-best fifth double-double of the season. She scored 10 points and had a career-best 17 rebounds, two shy off the school record for rebounds in a game, set in 1990 by Sherry Lou Tieman against Air Force.

Senior Rosalyn Nelson closed in on the 1,500-point mark. She is six shy of the landmark after scoring seven Monday. She added five rebounds, four assists and five steals.

Grand Canyon shot just 31.4 percent in the first half, but managed to have a 35-22 lead. The shooting improved, as did the defense, in the final 20 minutes. The Antelopes scored 43 second-half points and held the Argonauts to only eight field goals.

"We know who we are and what we're capable of. We can get back in it with our defense," said GCU senior guard Kristi Girdley.

Antelope Gymnasium opened in December of 1994. With Monday's win, the women's team finished 120-101. Next season, GCU will play in its new 5,000-seat, on-campus facility, Grand Canyon University Arena.

Along with being ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches Poll, Grand Canyon is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA West Region.

At 11-1 in the conference, GCU is currently in first place in the Pacific West Conference. It has played one more game than second place Dixie State (10-1). The winner of the PacWest gets an automatic berth into the NCAA West Region along with tournamnet champions from the California Collegiate Athletic Association and Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Five at-large teams from the three conferences will also be selected.

GCU begins a four-game road trip in Hawai'i Saturday at Hawaii-Hilo. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Mountain Time. (5 p.m. in Hawaii).

Box Score