No. 15 Women's Basketball Downs No. 24 UW-Parkside in Las Vegas

Tuesday, December 18

Las Vegas, NV

2:00 PM

Grand Canyon

10-2

#25 UW-Parkside

4-2

Wisconsin-Parkside

Grand Canyon

Maylinn Smith

Photo by: Darryl Webb

No. 15 Women's Basketball Downs No. 24 UW-Parkside in Las Vegas

12/18/2012 3:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Win ninth straight game and first at South Point Holiday Hoops Classic

The No. 15 Grand Canyon University women’s basketball team defeated No. 24 UW-Parkside, 68-54, today in their first game as part of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. The win, which was the ninth straight for the Antelopes, improved their overall record to 10-2. The Rangers fell to 4-2 on the season.

As they have done for most games this season, GCU outscored their opposition in the second half and turned a first-half deficit into a victory. The back and forth contest saw four tied scores and four lead changes.

Video reaction from head coach Trent May can be viewed here.

Maylinn Smith was the high-scorer for the ‘Lopes with 18 points. Judy Jones recorded her seventh straight double-double and eighth straight double-digit scoring effort as she posted 15 points and 13 rebounds. Chigozie Ekweozor added 10 points for GCU.

The ‘Lopes shot 40.0 percent for the contest (24-for-60), including an impressive 45.8 percent (11-for-24) in the second half.
GCU outrebounded Parkside, 44-35, and held a significant advantage in points in the paint, 32-12. The ‘Lopes were also able to capitalize on 11 Rangers turnovers, scoring 14 points on those chances.

GCU shot 36.1 percent (13-for-36) from the field in the first 20 minutes, led by Jones with 11 points. Smith added nine points for the ‘Lopes as she was 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Both squads drained five three-pointers in the half, while GCU held the advantage with 16 points in the paint.

The ‘Lopes scored first in the contest before the Rangers answered with seven unanswered points to take a 7-2 lead with 17:37 on the clock. GCU then went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-9 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.

The ‘Lopes held Parkside scoreless for nearly five minutes until a Rangers three-pointer made it 13-12 with 11:20 to play in the first. GCU took a three-point lead at 15-12 before the Rangers responded with a 13-1 run over the next four minutes to build a 25-16 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. Parkside extended their advantage to 10 points via a three-pointer to make it 30-20 at the five minute mark.

GCU then made back-to-back three-pointers to pull within four points, 30-26, and force a Parkside timeout with 4:30 on the clock. The Rangers outscored GCU, 8-6, for the remainder of the half as they carried a 38-32 advantage into the locker room.

GCU outscored Parkside 12-6 over the first five and a half minutes of the second half to tie the score at 44. The ‘Lopes regained the lead via an Asha McDonnell layup with just under 13 minutes to play before two Rangers free throws knotted the score once again at 46. GCU then used a 6-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 52-48 lead with eight minutes to play.

GCU would go on to lead by as many as 15 points in the contest as they held the Rangers to just 16 points overall in the second half, while scoring 36 points. GCU’s defense also did not allow a Parkside point for over four minutes as they went on to score 10 points of their own.

Earlier today, the latest USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll was released and GCU’s women’s team moved up one spot to No. 15. Click here for the full rankings.

GCU will play Western Washington tomorrow at 4 p.m. (Arizona time) in their final contest as part of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Fans can follow the action via live video and stats by visiting www.gculopes.com.

GCU 68, UWP 54