No. 15 'Lopes Win Sixth Straight Game, Improve to 2-1 in PacWest Conference Play

Thursday, January 5

Belmont, CA

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

10-1 (2-1)

Notre Dame de Namur

3-9 (1-3)

Grand Canyon

Notre Dame de Namur

Shelia Washington had 8 points on Jan. 5 at NDNU.

No. 15 'Lopes Win Sixth Straight Game, Improve to 2-1 in PacWest Conference Play

1/5/2012 7:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The No. 15 Grand Canyon University women’s basketball team defeated Notre Dame de Namur, 70-46, tonight at Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont, Calif. The win was the Antelopes’ sixth straight victory and improved their road record to 4-0. The ‘Lopes are now 2-1 in the PacWest Conference and 10-1 overall. The Argonauts fell to 3-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

“Playing on the road takes a certain mindset to prepare and I think ours is simplistic,” said head coach Trent May. “We give the girls freedom on the road and encourage them to relax and enjoy their surroundings as much as they can. The girls are a great testament of being a student-athlete and handling the responsibilities of being accountable and doing what they are supposed to do. As a coach, I couldn’t be more pleased with what the girls do off the court and how they respond to what we ask of them. And they know it’s business when we step on the floor.”

The ‘Lopes outrebounded their opponent, 42-36, for the 10^th time and are 9-1 in those contests. The win was also their sixth double-digit victory of the season as GCU reached at least 70 points for the second time.

GCU shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) from the field and went 7-for-14 from behind the arc. The ‘Lopes also shot 91.7 percent from the charity stripe after sinking 11 of their 12 free throws. GCU induced 19 turnovers by the Argos, including 14 steals and two blocked shots, and held NDNU to a 29.8 mark (17-for-57) from the field.

Maylinn Smith led GCU with 17 points, the 10^th time she has reached double-digit scoring this season. Jenna Pearson had a career-high 15 points, while Joslynn Frazier and Shelia Washington each had eight points. Jallisa Butler once again led the ‘Lopes on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds and adding nine points.

GCU took a 9-8 lead with just under 16 minutes left in the first half and never looked back as they outscored the Argos 32-16 for the remainder of the period. The ‘Lopes shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the field, including a 62.5 mark (5-for-8) from behind the three point line, to take a 41-24 advantage into the half. Their 41 first-half points mark their second-highest total behind the 45 points scored in the first half of their 81-52 win over Cal State Stanislaus in San Francisco, Calif. on Dec. 9.

Pearson made her first five shots of the half, three of which came from the three point line, to lead the ‘Lopes with 13 points heading into the locker room. Her first half point total surpassed her previous career-high of 12 points set on Nov. 25 vs. San Francisco State. Smith added nine points, while Butler and Frazier each chipped in with six points.

“Jenna had a great first half of shooting and that really kept us in the game,” said May. “Maylinn did a good job of finding her. Jenna’s 13 points in the first half helped us through a somewhat stagnant 20 minutes.”

The ‘Lopes used a 19-8 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to give them their largest lead of the game at 60-32. Smith had six points during the stretch, while Stevie Kamp added four points, Washington had three and Pearson, Frazier and Petrolina Chilaka each added two. GCU maintained a lead of at least 20 points for the remainder of the half, allowing the Argos to score just five points over the final six minutes.

“I liked the way we regrouped in the second half and played with a lot of energy,” added May. “The expectation of the game was to play with a lot of fire and intensity as we tried to avenge a loss that was the only blemish on our record this year (with a loss at home to NDNU). However, we weren’t in sync as much as we wanted tonight. It took us about 28 minutes to get there and start playing hard, aggressive and together as a team.”

GCU will next be in action when they return home to Grand Canyon University Arena to face Dominican on Jan. 11. It will be a quick turnaround for the matchup, as the ‘Lopes faced Dominican on Jan. 3 in San Rafael, Calif. and posted a 62-34 victory. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m.

“Playing Dominican so close together goes along with never taking anyone lightly because it is not about the opponent, but about what we do,” May said. “We are trying to form a constant standard of our expectations game-in and game-out. It comes down to your intensity, effort and focus. When we are able to do those things, it doesn’t really matter who we are playing because we have a great opportunity to win the game. We don’t play a scoreboard and I don’t coach a scoreboard. I am coaching them to get better each and every game and to seize the opportunity because we are blessed as coaches and players.”

GCU 70, NDNU 46