GCU opens WBI on the road at North Dakota

PHOENIX - The Grand Canyon women's basketball team has accepted a bid to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). GCU finished the regular season with a 16-14 overall record and an 8-6 conference record, leading the Lopes to a third-place tie in the Western Athletic Conference final standings.

The Lopes, who are a No. 6 seed, will travel to a first-round matchup at No. 2 seed North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. on Thursday, March 17. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MST.
The Women's Basketball Invitational provides a choice for postseason-worthy Division I Women's teams to continue their season but which do not qualify for the NCAA tournament. The 16-team event will take place over two weeks with all games being played on campus sites.

Grand Canyon will be making a return to postseason basketball for the second time as a member of Division I. The Lopes fell to Boise State in a WBI game at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season.

Head coach Trent May and his team have turned the corner this season on the road, improving from a 5-7 record in 2014-15 to an 8-7 winning record this year. Although GCU's scoring average was almost identitcal from last season (61.7 ppg) to this year (61.6), the scoring has been spread throughout the team with four players averaging double figures this season compared to just two players last year. The Lopes return to postseason basketball with senior leadership, as Courtney Hayes rewrote the GCU record book, tallying the most assists in a single season with 192 assists.

Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota finished fourth in the Big Sky Conference with a 13-5 record and made it to the semifinals of the conference tournament before being upset by Idaho State. It will be a tough matchup for the Lopes on the road as they head to the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center where North Dakota finished 11-3. UND had two All-Big Sky honorees in Mia Loyd earning first-team honors and Makailah Dyer being named to the second team. Loyd nearly averaged a double-double with 10.8 points per game and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 47.1 percent from the field. Dyer averaged a team-high 12.3 points per game making 40 3-pointers this season, which leads the team. Dyer also led the team in assists per game dishing out 2.9 assists.

The All-Time Series
vs. North Dakota– 3rd meeting (North Dakota leads the series 0-2)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Courtney Hayes

Grand Canyon University Athletics