Scott shakes off jitters, defenders in win

Wednesday, December 2

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Benedictine Mesa

Grand Canyon

12/2/2020 8:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes thrive on creating turnovers, frosh's 25-point game

By: Paul Coro

This Grand Canyon women's basketball team set its bar ridiculously high with Division I-era records for scoring and opponent turnovers in the season opener.

So when only one of those records fell again in the Lopes' second game Wednesday night, it did not hit them quite the same way as they beat Benedictine Mesa 80-72 at GCU Arena.

GCU (2-0) forced 28 turnovers, a Division I-era program record, from the Redhawks (0-1) and was lifted by a 25-point, nine-rebound, five-steal night by freshman center Katie Scott. The Lopes never trailed for the final three quarters, but also never could put away their crosstown NAIA visitor.

"When things don't go your way, like when you miss your first shot or you get a quick whistle on you, we've got to overcome that a little bit better," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "I think this was a good opportunity for us to learn and grow. We still want to pressure defense but we have to learn as the game goes along."

Scott helped carry the Lopes through the challenge, with the Lopes leading by four points with less than seven minutes remaining. In her second game and only 20 minutes of play, Scott posted a 25-9-5 line that most players would not dream of having on any night of a career.

"Getting rid of those first-game jitters was definitely a big part of what helped me settle in tonight," said Scott, last year's Missouri Girls Basketball Player of the Year. "As a freshman, you never want to do too much or too little and you have to find your place on the team. I think our team did a really great job of adjusting to the opponent and to me and I think we came together."

At 6 feet 2, Scott dominated inside but also showed off an array of scoring skills. She opened with a 3-point shot, scored on an and-one reverse and made a backcourt steal that turned into a left-handed scoop shot. That balanced off the right-handed scoop she also used.

"That's one that I haven't used in a little bit so I had to remind people that I could do it," Scott said. "Sometimes, you have to let them know that you're not just a point and that you can dribble a little bit."

It was Scott who put away Benedictine's last threat at 67-63 in the fourth quarter. She scored off an offensive rebound and followed with a post-up score after the Lopes induced an inbound violation.

"Katie's definitely got a lot of finesse to her game and she's pretty savvy on the offensive end," Miller said. "And then with her buying into defense, she got a couple steals. We just need to do that consistently and we're always going to work on rebounding with her. Katie can score in droves and I think she showed that tonight."

Scott and others crashed for 18 offensive rebounds on a cold perimeter shooting night, helping give GCU 16 more shots than Benedictine and 17 second-chance points.

Lopes junior guard Venla Varis scored 10 first-half points and finished with 12 off the bench in 16 minutes. GCU juinor point guard Laura Piera played all but three minutes and finished with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"It was a good game for us to make in-game adjustments and I think we can get better at that," Miller said. "We'll take it. It's going to be a process. We're going to have some really good games and we're going to have some games where there's a lot to work on afterward. We just need to take that in stride."

Miller's rotation was handcuffed by the absence of freshman Tiarra Brown, out for a hamstring injury, and the foul trouble of sophomore Taylor Caldwell, who was disqualified in 20 minutes but still set a career high for steals with all five in the first half.

Miller had to go to unfamiliar lineups, but junior power forward Carla Balague stepped up with an eight-point, five-rebound game in 16 reserve minutes while senior guard Ny'Dajah Jackson became the only player to score in double figures in both GCU wins. She had 10.

"That was definitely a learning experience for us as a team," Scott said. "I think we went in a little bit underestimating the other team. We have to learn that, on any night, anyone can beat anyone and that's the beauty of basketball. But at the same time, we can beat anyone on a good night so we have to take what we did tonight and learn from it and grow from it.

"It was always entertaining and sometimes a little too entertaining."