Insider: Style meets substance to build brand

1/13/2021 8:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog

Relentless defense keys 8-1 starts, leads nation for opponent turnovers

By: Paul Coro

The season was only a minute and a half old when Ny'Dajah Jackson and Kennedi Shorts converged on the dribbler at midcourt and made her give up the basketball as Taylor Caldwell denied the opposing teammate that approached to help the endangered possession. Caldwell stole the escape pass and the Grand Canyon women's basketball brand of basketball was born.

In ensuing games, it hardly took that long again before opponents felt the duress they face all game from the unrelenting Lopes pressure defense that first-year head coach Molly Miller installed and instilled. GCU is entering WAC play at 8-1 because opponents are making 27.2 turnovers per game, the nation's highest rate for any team with more than five games played.

With teams shooting only 41% against them, those lost possessions equate to about 22 lost points per game and often lead to easy fastbreak points for GCU.

The only difference since that first game is that it rarely takes until the second minute for a forced turnover. Two games ago, the Lopes did not allow a shot until the fourth possession. Last game, Shorts made a steal seven seconds after tip-off. GCU is averaging a nation-best 15.6 steals per game.

"After that first game, they were like, 'Oh, this is why, Coach Miller, I get it,' " said Miller, whose team plays New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday at GCU Arena. "I think they are enjoying this feeling of success because the brand has really ignited them and their love of the game. As a coach, that's the ultimate prize to see your kids having fun, even if you had to push them a little bit harder than they might've pushed themselves in the beginning."

When Miller first convened with her team in July, the Lopes staff strategically incorporated the style in pieces. It started with showing games from Drury, where Miller previously coached the same trapping, ball-pressuring, lane-denying style that made her a two-time Division II Coach of the Year with one loss in the previous two seasons.

"There was a buzz after they saw the game film of, 'That's a fun style to play,' " Miller said. "That energized them and set the tone. This is going to be us. Now, how do we get there? That might not be the most glamorous part."

The Lopes laid the summer groundwork with extensive conditioning, the necessary level that it would take to be relentless over every inch of a 94-foot court for every second of a 40-minute game. They started practices with defensive fundamentals, rooting their base in the extended-arm defensive stance that is staple on any opposing ball-handler.

"The whole first week, maybe the first two weeks of practice, was defense," said GCU sophomore guard Taylor Caldwell, who ranks ninth nationally with 3.8 steals per game. "We do defense every single day. And now, even though we lead the nation (in opponent turnovers), we feel like we could always get more."

They were going to rely on every player to execute this system, especially after losing a key cog, senior Chloe Akin-Otiko, to a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.

More than half of the opponent turnovers come from steals. Caldwell (3.8 per game) and junior point guard Laura Piera (3.1) lead the WAC in steals, a stat that benefits from a collective pressure defense. Many times, it is Shorts' long arms, Scott's tall extension or the hustle of Jackson, Tianna Brown, Venla Varis, Carla Balague and Tavia Rowell that create the turnover. They have done all this with one of their biggest potential difference-makers, Tiarra Brown, being limited to 100 minutes by a hamstring injury.

The Lopes' extra possessions have led to almost a 25-point bump in scoring from last season. That effort is led by a freshman, Scott, who tops the conference in points per game (20.7), field goal percentage (60.3) and three-point field goal percentage (60.7). Eight rotation players average between 5.4 and 11.3 points, which is Jackson's average.

"When you have a group with a collective commitment, you don't want to be the one to slack off here and there," Miller said. "That's been really cool. That's when your culture starts to take over of hard work all day, every day."

WAC play brings a new dimension to Miller's system. Because of caution with the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference schedule is pitting WAC teams for two games at one site on consecutive days. The Lopes will start with New Mexico State at 2 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday at GCU Arena.

It is unknown whether a first look will help teams be able to adjust and be more comfortable against the Lopes' defense on the second night or if it will wear them down even more.

"I know the WAC is getting better and all the teams are getting better, but I feel like we can do something really good," Piera said.