No. 13 'Lopes Defeat Cal Poly Pomona to Advance to Second Round of West Region Championships

Friday, March 9

San Diego, CA

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

24-3

Cal Poly Pomona

19-9

Cal Poly Pomona

Grand Canyon

Jallisa Butler had 12 points in GCU's 49-48 win over Cal Poly Pomona in the first round of the NCAA West Regionals on March 9.

No. 13 'Lopes Defeat Cal Poly Pomona to Advance to Second Round of West Region Championships

3/9/2012 2:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The No. 13 Grand Canyon University women’s basketball team, the third seed in the NCAA West Regionals, defeated Cal Poly Pomona, the No. 6 seed in the regionals, 49-48 today at RIMAC Arena in San Diego, Calif. The win advances the Antelopes to the second round of the regionals tomorrow and avenges their 68-61 West Region Finals loss to Pomona last season.

“Today was a very hard fought contest and I have to give a lot of credit to Pomona and their staff,” said head coach Trent May. “I am definitely proud of our girls. We had a lot of runs today, but Pomona answered. Our girls stayed resilient. Every play in the game matters and I was proud of their effort and hustle. We had enough to advance and that’s what matters.”

GCU is now 24-3 for the season, while the Broncos finished their 2011-12 campaign at 19-9.

“When they announced who we were playing, our girls had a yell about them that gave me a lot of confidence,” added May. “I sat back and said ‘Okay, that is all the motivation we need.’”

“For us, we are a completely different team than last year: we play different and we defend differently,” said Maylinn Smith. “We lost against them and we remember that feeling watching them celebrate. This year it was more that we know we can win and it doesn’t matter who we face.”

The win also improved the ‘Lopes to 12-0 on the road this season.

GCU shot 35.4 percent (17-for-48) for the game and were led by Smith with 15 points and Jallisa Butler with 12 points. Angelina Dennison added nine points.

“It was somewhat of a redemption game because they knocked us out last year,” said Butler. “I just thought of it like we were going to go in and win. I felt like we had the energy to win and keep going strong.”

GCU got off to a hot start as they opened the game on a 6-0 run before Pomona scored their first points of the game with just over 17 minutes to play. The Broncos answered with six points of their own as both teams entered the first media timeout locked in a 6-6 tie with 15:29 on the clock. GCU then used a 6-2 run to take a 12-8 lead with 11:50 to play in the first half. The two teams exchanged baskets before the ‘Lopes went on an 8-2 run to build their lead to 25-17 with 4:20 on the clock.

Pomona took a 7-6 lead with just over 15 minutes in the half, their lone lead of the contest.

The Broncos pulled within four at 25-21 with under three minutes to play before GCU outscored Pomona 7-0 for the remainder of the half to take a 32-21 advantage into the locker room.

The ‘Lopes shot 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from the field in the first half, including an 8-for-11 mark from the free throw line, and outrebounded Pomona 16-11. The Broncos shot 38.1 percent (8-for-21) in the first half.

Smith and Butler each had seven points at the half, while Dennison added six points and Stevie Kamp had four points.

GCU led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but were held scoreless for nearly nine minutes as Pomona scored seven unanswered points. The Broncos pulled within five points at 44-39 with 2:01 to play. Smith then drained a three-pointer with 1:32 on the clock to give the ‘Lopes a 47-39 lead. Megan Ford made two free throws and Rosslyn Beard nailed a three-pointer to narrow the score to 47-44 with 40 seconds remaining in the game.

“It was about how disciplined we were today,” said Butler. “We had to control ourselves and not get that foul but play aggressively.”

Smith made one of two free throws to put GCU up 48-44 with 31.3 seconds. On the other end of the court, J.J. Judge made one of two free throws to narrow the margin to 48-45. Butler then made the first of two free throws to give GCU a four-point advantage at 49-45. Judge made a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the Broncos fell short as the ‘Lopes won 49-48.

“They are very good and I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff,” added Smith. “But we knew they would be a different team. Today, it came down to who had the best.”

The Broncos outscored the ‘Lopes 27-17 in the second half as GCU was held to a 22.7 field goal percentage.

“It is so much about what we do and today was an indication of how we are able to stay in there and fight,” May said. “Pomona did a great job of staying in the game and we didn’t close it out as much as we would have liked to. That is something we did that we need to do better down the stretch.”

GCU will face No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Arizona time in the RIMAC Arena in San Diego, Calif. Live audio, video and stats are available on www.gculopes.com.

GCU 49, CPP 48