GCU hosts Eastern Washington for 1st time

Tuesday, November 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Eastern Washington

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11/16/2021 9:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Lopes welcome Eagles in Phoenix after winning at EWU last season

By: Sierra Smith

Tuesday, Nov. 16 \| 6 p.m. \| GCU Arena

	EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (0-2)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (1-0)

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The Grand Canyon women's basketball welcomes Eastern Washington to GCU Arena for the first time. This is the second-ever meeting between the Lopes and Eagles after GCU won at Reese Court in Cheney, Washington last season.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

MILLER GOES FOR 200: GCU's Molly Miller is looking for her 200th career win as a head coach. She has a career record of 199-24.
BROKEN RECORDS: In the regular-season opener on Wednesday, GCU broke several records, including opponent turnovers (41), steals (27) and attedance (2,831).
TOP WIN PERCENTAGE: Miller holds the highest career winning percentage (.892) of any NCAA men's or women's basketball coach at the Division I, II or III levels with at least seven years of experience.

SCOUTING

Eastern Washington head coach Joddie Gleason enters her first season at helm for the Eagles. Most recently, she was an associate head coach at Seattle U for five seasons and was head coach at Humboldt State for the previous 12 years.
Leading the Eagles is freshman Jaydia Martin, who has posted double-digit points in both games. Martin scored 23 points against San Jose State and she scored 19 against Pepperdine. The next highest scorer is sophomore Jacinta Buckley, who has 19 total points.
Last season, GCU played at Eastern Washington and defeated the Eagles 84-78. GCU sophomore guard Tiarra Brown posted a double-double in that game with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles return just five players (Tatiana Reese, Britt Van Buren, Milly Knowles, Megan Fossen and Gabrielle Jung).

LAST TIME OUT

The Lopes opened the regular season by setting a Division I-era record for opponent turnovers in a game (41) and an all-time record for attendance (2,831) on Wednesday night. The turnovers helped GCU rout Arizona Christian 95-48.
Nine Lopes made debuts in GCU uniforms, but they looked like they had been in the GCU defensive pressure system for longer than a few months.
The Lopes topped the turnover record of 36 from last year's season opener, when Miller introduced her defensive style of trapping dribblers and interrupting passing lanes.
The Lopes put five scorers in double figures with four being newcomers. GCU's top two scorers were freshman reserve guards Kiyley Flowers and Ja'Mya Powell-Smith, who each scored 14 points despite playing less than 15 minutes apiece. graduate transfers Jay McChristine and Amara Graham scored 12 and 13 points, respectively, while McChristine topped the rebound count with eight boards in 16 minutes.
The crowd of 2,831 obliterated the old mark of 2,049 with the familiar look of a Purple Pregame Party and the infectious energy of Havocs, band, cheer and dance.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes hit the road for the first time this season to play at Kansas City, a Missouri homecoming for Miller and the freshmen trio of Powell-Smith, Flowers and Naudia Evans.