The No. 16 Grand Canyon University women's basketball team looks to extend their win streak to eight straight games as they host PacWest newcomer Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m. in GCU Arena. Fans can follow the action via live video by visiting www.gculopes.com.
GAME NOTES
VS. FRESNO PACIFIC: GCU is 1-2 all-time against the Sunbirds, dropping the first two meetings and winning the last contest between the two teams in 2010-11. Today’s game marks the first meeting as a PacWest Conference matchup against Fresno Pacific.
LAST TIME OUT: GCU defeated Cal State Stanislaus, 82-64, on Monday in Turlock, Calif., to extend their win streak to seven straight games behind Judy Jones’ fifth consecutive double-double.
IN THE POLLS: GCU is ranked 16
th in the
USA Today Sports/ESPN Division II Preseason Coaches’ poll (updated Dec. 11). GCU has been ranked among the top-20 teams in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches Poll for 35 consecutive weeks dating back to the 2010-11 season.
CONFERENCE PLAY: The Antelopes finished 15-3 en route to winning their fifth PacWest title in 2011-12. Since joining the conference in 2006, the ‘Lopes have posted an 83-13 mark overall and have won 15 games four times: in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
FEELING AT HOME…ON THE ROAD: GCU finished 11-0 on the road in the regular season in 2011-12, the first time in school history they won each of their regular season games away from home. They have now won 20 of their last 22 regular season road games (16 straight conference road games) dating back to the 2010-11 season. GCU is averaging 65.3 points-per-game on the road.
BALANCED ATTACK: The ‘Lopes have outscored their opponents 707-568 through 10 games, scoring 324 points in the first half and coming out strong in the second half with 383 points.
BIG ON THE BOARDS: GCU has outrebounded their opponents, 444-313, through their first 10 games. Judy Jones leads the squad with 86 rebounds, averaging 8.6 rebounds per game.
JONESIN’ FOR MORE: Judy Jones has made an immediate impact on the squad, averaging a team-high 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Jones was GCU’s leading scorer in their big 64-62 win over eighth-ranked UC San Diego on Nov. 10 in the Disney Classic and averaged 19.5 points during the GCU Thanksgiving Classic. Jones has recorded five straight double-doubles and has scored in double-digit figures for six consecutive contests.
PACWEST STAT SPEAK: Among PacWest teams this season, GCU’s 13.1 rebounding margin and 31.3 rebounding defense ranks first, while their 72.5 free throw percentage and 13.9 scoring margin are second and their 56.8 scoring defense, 44.4 rebounding offense and 42.2 field goal percentage are third. Individually, Judy Jones (55.2) is fourth in field goal percentage and sixth with 15.3 points per game.
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