No. 19 Women's Hoops Ends Road Trip with Win over Fresno Pacific

Saturday, January 12

Fresno, CA

3:30 PM

Grand Canyon

14-4, 6-1PWC

Fresno Pacific

0-13, 0-6PWC

Grand Canyon

Fresno Pacific

Judy Jones

Photo by: Theon Carrier

No. 19 Women's Hoops Ends Road Trip with Win over Fresno Pacific

1/12/2013 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Improve to 6-1 in PacWest Conference play

The No. 19 Grand Canyon University women’s basketball team wrapped up their road trip with a 75-49 win at Fresno Pacific today in Fresno, Calif. With the win, the Antelopes improved to 14-4 overall and 6-1 in the Pacific West Conference. The Sunbirds fell to 0-13 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

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

GCU had four players score in double figures, led by Judy Jones with 27 points. Chigozie Ekweozor had 13 points, while Jasmine Cannon had 11 points and Maylinn Smith added 10 points. Jones also led the way with 16 rebounds for her 11^th double-double of the season.

GCU shot 42.9 percent in the contest (24-for-56), while the Sunbirds shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53). The ‘Lopes were strong on the boards, pulling down 49 rebounds compared to 25 for FPU, allowing GCU to score 23 second chance points while holding the Sunbirds to just four.

The ‘Lopes led for the first four minutes before the Sunbirds knotted the score at seven with 15 minutes to play in the first. The score was tied twice more until GCU built a three-point lead, at which point the teams traded baskets for the next few minutes as Fresno Pacific remained within one point of the ‘Lopes. FPU once again notched the score at 22 with 6:41 on the clock before GCU used a 6-0 run over the next minute to build a 28-22 lead.

The Sunbirds battled back to tie the score at 30 with just over two minutes remaining in the first and took their first lead of the contest at 33-32 following their fourth made three-pointer with 1:16 to go in the half. GCU scored the final two points of the half via a Smith layup to carry a 34-33 lead into the locker room.

GCU shot 50.0 percent (13-for-26) from the field in the first 20 minutes, while FPU was equally as impressive with a 48.3 percent mark (14-for-29). The ‘Lopes outrebounded the Sunbirds, 20-13, but committed 13 turnovers resulting in 14 points for FPU.

FPU opened the second half on a 6-4 run to reclaim the lead at 39-38 before GCU went on an 11-3 run to build their lead to 49-42 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Sunbirds then used a 7-3 run of their own to make it a 52-49 game at the 11:19 mark.

At that point, GCU took control of the game for the remainder of the half, as they built their first double-digit lead at 60-50 with eight and a half minutes on the clock and extended that to 20 points at 72-52 with 4:19 remaining. GCU’s defense did not allow a Sunbirds basket for over two minutes until they made a three-pointer with three minutes to play.

FPU outscored the ‘Lopes 7-3 for the remainder of the game, but GCU’s strong second half secured their third straight win. As they have done for most of the season, GCU outscored their opponent in the final 20 minutes, this time by a 41-26 margin.

GCU will return home for the first of four straight at GCU Arena when they welcome Point Loma on Jan. 19 with tipoff slated for 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live by visiting www.gculopes.com.

GCU 75, FPU 59