Revamped roster wins in familiar fashion

Thursday, October 28

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Western New Mexico

Western N.M.

Grand Canyon

10/28/2021 10:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes make 24 steals to cause 30 turnovers in 93-56 exhibition victory

By: Paul Coro

For anyone new to the brand that head coach Molly Miller has emblazoned on Grand Canyon women's basketball, the display came quickly Thursday night at GCU Arena.

Senior Tianna Brown stole a wing pass. Graduate student Jay McChristine forced a backcourt turnover and blocked a layup. Junior Taylor Caldwell picked a dribble and ripped away the ball from an opponent's grasp on successive trips.

The exhibition game went more than three minutes before Western New Mexico was able to put a ball on the rim. The rest of the night adhered to the Lopes' penchant for pressure defense, getting 24 steals to create 30 turnovers in a 93-56 home victory that preps GCU for its Nov. 10 regular-season opener.

"The biggest takeaway is we had such a great group of fans out there," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "That was so fun, playing in front of the Havocs. Just to feel that support. We're just so grateful and blessed to have that type of fan base. We just want to give them a good show. We want to play hard for them and make them proud. Hopefully, they got a taste of what's going to come this year. It's going to be a fun brand of basketball to play."

Seven Lopes played a game for GCU for the first time, including a trio of double-digit scorers in McChristine (15 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals in 20 minutes), graduate Lauren Rewers (15 points in 12 minutes) and junior Dominique Phillips (14 points, three assists).

That does not even include defending WAC scoring champion Amara Graham, also a graduate transfer, starring on the playmaking side by making seven assists without a turnover. With eight points, five rebounds and three steals too, Graham was a plus-30 in 29 minutes of play.

"That's just some leadership and savvy on her part to take care of the ball that well," Graham said. "She's hitting a lot of those shots that she didn't hit tonight. It's nice to still have production even when she's not hitting shots that she normally would."

The Lopes blew the game open in the second quarter with a 17-4 finish that put GCU ahead 41-25 at the half. Graham scored all eight of her points in the first half while Caldwell made all five of her steals in the first half.

That 17-4 one rolled into a larger 30-8 run by the time Phillips, a Nevada transfer from nearby Goodyear, Arizona, got rolling with six points and two assists in the first 5:12 of the second half.

"Being here is one of the best feelings, honestly, since I got here in the summer," Phillips said. "It's a happy environment and just playing with each other and for each other has been amazing. I could never ask for better teammates and coaches.

"Just seeing it on the court today, everything works. Coach Molly, everything that she has put in place with defensive traditions and the way she plays, it works and it's a good defense. We could see people struggle with it in the future too."

Phillips and McChristine bring a different frontcourt element for GCU, which picked up 27 points from Rewers and senior Kennedi Shorts up front too.

"(Jay) is just a grinder in there," Miller said. "She'll do whatever it takes. She is just tough and hard-nosed. And Dom is not taking anything from anyone. She's a tough kid too. That scoring, we needed to fill a void there and I think those two can get it done and get it done in droves. They're high-energy kids that have the green light for us."

GCU shot 50.7% from the field, but gave Miller and the coaching staff some film to sharpen the offense. The Lopes expect to shoot better too after going 8 for 23 on 3-pointers and 15 for 28 on free throws. While the starters were 1 for 14 on 3s, the bench went 7 for 9 with Rewers and freshmen Naudia Evans and Kiyley Flowers each making two.

"The greatest thing for me is to see how quickly they can buy into a system that was foreign to them three months ago," Miller said. "Now, they're seeing this is how hard we have to play and this is why it works."

Only Shorts, Caldwell and Brown had played in front of a full-fledged GCU Arena atmosphere, except for Graham doing so as a visitor with UT Rio Grande Valley.

"I don't think I've ever been to a college women's basketball game or played in one where the entire student fan base is there or most of them are," Phillips said. "That was a lot of people. It just shows you how much this school cares about athletics and also women's athletics, which is a big difference compared to other schools."