Lopes show strength in 68-48 exhibition victory

Tuesday, November 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

10:00 A.M.

Grand Canyon

Western State Colorado University (EXH.)

11/8/2016 1:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Imani Suber

PHOENIX -- The GCU women's basketball team defeated Western State Colorado 68-48 in their lone exhibition game of the year at GCU Arena. The Lopes dominated on both sides of the court and held the Mountaineers to 17 points in the first half and continued a balanced offensive attack that produced 68 points and a 20 point margin of victory.

Senior forward Marina Laramie led GCU with 19 points and recorded a double-double shooting 9-of-15 with 11 rebounds. She was a big contributor to GCU's 24-14, points in the paint. The Lopes balanced that inside effort with nine 3-pointers.

How it Happened
GCU started off in lull and went without a field goal for three minutes after Aniya Baker made two early free throws in the opening minutes. Jessica Gajewski secured the first two baskets after consecutive scores with a layup followed by a 3-pointer to put the Lopes up by seven. GCU quickly got its offense going midway through the first quarter as they mounted a 7-0 run to take control and ended the quarter up 19-10.

In the second quarter, the Lopes kept the pressure on as Laramie, who finished with 19 points scored eight straight . The Lopes never relinquished their lead as both the offense and defense jelled holding the Mountaineers to just 17 points with a 34-17 advantage heading into the half.

In the third quarter, the Lopes continued to dominate on defense holding WSU to just six field goals to the Lopes 17. Laramie tallied her 10th rebound to earn a double-double on the day. GCU ended the quarter with a 54-24 lead. To close out the contest, the Lopes matched their third quarter tally of 17 points. But, the Mountaineers wouldn't go quietly as they produced their highest point margin in the fourth outscoring GCU 24-to-17. GCU offense received a spark when freshman Vanessa Murphy banked consecutive 3-pointers to put the Lopes back up by 25 with 3:29 left in the game. Bloom then finalized the score with a 3-pointer herself to conclude the game at a 68-48 tally.

Overall in the second half, GCU forced 12 turnovers and held the Mountaineers to 29 percent (7-of-24) shooting while connecting on 41 percent (12-of-29) itself.

Lopes Quotes
Head Coach Trent May
"To go against another opponent really maximizes things that we think we're good at and also see what we need to improve on. It's good to get the time together on the floor. We will continue to build off how we performed today and look forward to Friday's contest."

Up Next
GCU will open its regular season on Friday, Nov. 11, when Alcorn State visits GCU Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MST.