Coro: Lopes dare to duel Duke

Sunday, November 12

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 P.M.

Grand Canyon

0-2

Duke

1-0

Duke

Grand Canyon

11/12/2017 4:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

GCU women's basketball team challenges No. 12 Blue Devils in loss

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

There was not one Grand Canyon women's basketball player who exited the GCU Arena floor on Sunday afternoon feeling fine about losing.

There also was not one Lopes player who expected to lose, even against No. 12 Duke.

GCU must have raised eyebrows Sunday when the ESPN score ticker was showing the Lopes leading the Blue Devils for much of the first quarter and within striking distance in the fourth quarter. The experience and depth of Duke eventually won out, leaving GCU with a 74-61 loss and belief in the team's ability.

The Lopes were playing their second game under new head coach Nicole Powell, who was on last season's Oregon staff that upset Duke in the NCAA tournament. GCU only has six returning players and two returning starters but gave a crowd of 1,683 fans more than many expected after Duke dominated the Lopes 90-47 last season.

This time, GCU took a 10-6 midway through the first quarter and stayed a threat through the fourth quarter, trailing by seven points with less than five minutes remaining.

"It was great because nobody was expecting anything of us," said GCU senior guard Jessica Gajewski, who followed up a 21-point season-opening performance with 15 points and four assists on Sunday. "We are all proud of how we played. We gave it everything we had and gave them a run for their money."

Like Friday's season opener, Gajewski and point guard August Touchard played the entire game Sunday. Unlike Friday, the Lopes sustained their strong first-half effort. GCU lost to Rice on Friday after holding a 15-point halftime lead but showed more fortitude Sunday, when the Lopes took Duke's best shot (a 22-4 run in the first half) and rallied to within four points in the third quarter.

GCU got more of a balanced scoring effort from its starters with Gajewski, Brie Mobley and Vanessa Murphy each scoring 15 points. Center Katelyn Lee, who averaged 1.2 points last season, added 10 points while Touchard was key to handling Duke's full-court press.

Murphy just started practicing three weeks ago after coming back from injury and bounced back from a three-point opener to make six of 12 shots on Sunday.

"That was so exciting," Murphy said. "We had them. I honestly really believed we were going to win. They might've walked in here thinking it was going to be an easy game but that's not how our basketball team is. We're going to fight until the very end and we showed that today with maximum effort."

Each team committed 15 turnovers but Duke did more with the opportunities, getting 22 points off GCU turnovers to contribute to a big differential on points in the paint (34-10). The undersized Lopes often play with four guards and are working in newcomers for bench contributions but still tested Duke into the final minutes.

A strong defensive possession ended with Duke hitting a deep 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer for a 68-58 lead with 4:20 to go. Four consecutive ensuing GCU turnovers took away the hopes of one last rally.

"We're going to get better over the year and this team's all in," Powell said. "I'm really proud of where they're at as a group.

"We're here to compete. We're not going to lay down for anybody. Duke is a great program. I think their athleticism took over at the end and they have some really good players who have been in big situations."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.