Miller era launches with record-breaking win

Friday, November 27

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,0-0WAC

Weber State

0-1,0-0Big Sky

Weber St.

Grand Canyon

11/27/2020 6:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU sets Division I-era scoring record, tops Weber State 93-72

By: Paul Coro

Every grimace and grunt of offseason hard work turned into grins and glee Friday when the Molly Miller era of Grand Canyon women's basketball began with an emphatic stamp of style.

The promised high-tempo offense and high-pressure defense delivered in a season-opening 93-72 home win against Weber State, setting a GCU Division I-era scoring record and tying the DI-era mark for opponent turnovers (27).

"I told them today in the locker room, 'Today we get to step on the court and you get to prove why you just outworked the entire country,' and I think we did that," Miller said. "This was one of the most fun wins of my career. I step on the floor expecting to win."

And Miller usually does, having run her career coaching record to 181-17 on Friday when the GCU Arena final buzzer sounded to band members' chants of "Mol-ly Mill-er!"

The Lopes' preparation showed in a dominant 29-10 first quarter that matched the highest scoring total for any quarter in GCU's eight-year Division I basketball history.

There was a deeper beauty to it, too, because it was junior power forward Kennedi Shorts and sophomore guard Taylor Caldwell leading the instant Lopes takeover.

Shorts, making her second career start, scored GCU's first seven points and finished with career highs for points (17) and rebounds (seven) after averaging 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds last season. She made 8 of 10 shots, including a 3-point play, a lob finish and a left-handed driving score.

"When Kennedi got going, everyone took that sigh of relief and was like, 'Oh, OK, we got this,' " Miller said. "She's just a product of the system. She fits really well in what we do and she's bought into that. I'm really proud of her and you're going to see a lot more of that in the future."

Taylor Caldwell

Caldwell missed last season when she needed knee surgery but returned as a starter Friday by setting a career high with 21 points and matching a career high with seven rebounds. Both were team game highs as she connected on 8 of 12 shots.

"I'm so happy for her," Miller said. "That's the one that will pull at your heartstrings. When she came out that final substitution, I said, 'Guess who's back? Geez, quite the debut.' "

Once GCU stormed to a 22-point lead in the first quarter, it kept the advantage in double digits for the remainder of the game. Weber State made its best push at the end of the first half, but the Lopes gave another dominant start to the second half.

GCU's pressuring, trapping, gap-filling defense was menacing, keeping the Wildcats from getting past the half-court line on four of the first seven possessions of the second half. The Lopes also induced two shot-clock violations and an inbound violation.

"This defense is crazy," Caldwell said. "It's really hard to play against when we play against each other in practice. We play against our (male practice team) every day and they're much faster, much stronger and jump higher than any team we'll face. They'll prepare us for any team we play. When we get out here, it's like we've done our defense all the time."

GCU put Weber State, which returned four starters, away with 15 points in the final 3:18 of the third quarter for a 75-54 lead. That stretch began with seven consecutive points from graduate transfer Ny'Dajah Jackson, a guard who finished with 16 points.

"This is probably the most fun I've ever had on the court," Jackson said. "The energy and the enthusiasm. You get a steal and you lift your team up. It's bringing me back to high school.

"We all love each other. We can translate that on the court."

The Lopes took care of the ball with only 11 turnovers while shooting 50% thanks to 52 points in the paint. With 11 steals, including a team-high three by junior forward Carla Balague, the Lopes added 13 points on fastbreaks and had every player score except freshman Tiarra Brown, a preseason standout who was limited to two minutes by a hamstring injury.

NyDajah Jackson

"The bottom line tonight was how hard our kids played," Miller said. "That's why we won this game with our defensive effort and intensity. The 50-50 balls were ours. We were going on traps. We were really aggressive.

"That pressure really rattled them and I thought our momentum was generated from our defense today."

The Lopes created energy for each other, but also had a game atmosphere with limited students, band members, cheerleaders and dancers accompanied by thousands of character cutouts to fill GCU Arena's lower bowl on a Black Friday afternoon.

The next goal for the Lopes will be maintaining the enthusiasm and building on the success as the four-game homestand continues.

"If we do that consistently, we're going to be dancing at the end of the season," Jackson said.