Zars surpasses 1,000 points as GCU wins big

Sunday, December 11

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

8-1,0-0WAC

Columbia (Mo.)

0-1

Columbia (MO)

Grand Canyon

12/11/2022 5:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Lopes' McLeod scores game-high 17 points on her birthday

By: Nick Macdonald

The Grand Canyon women's basketball team pulled ahead early and never looked back as it scored 57 first-half points and had five players in double digits to win 97-39 over Columbia (Mo.) on Sunday at GCU Arena.

GCU freshman guard Laila McLeod, who celebrated her 19th birthday, led all scorers with 17 points as she knocked down three 3-pointers and added three rebounds and three assists.

The Lopes forced 29 turnovers and tallied 22 steals with 11 players earning a steal. It also shot 52.6% (40 of 76) from the floor and held Columbia (7-4) to 28.1% from the field and six free throws.

"We wanted to play clean and did not want to slow the game if we didn't have to," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "I think that is a learning experience for us. How we can keep the game going on our tempo and that means less stoppage and one of those things is not sending them to the free throw line as much."

GCU (8-1) jumped out to a 9-2 lead through the first two minutes with graduate forward Evan Zars scoring five of the first nine points. Zars' 3-point shot from the corner put her over the 1,000-point plateau for her career. Zars spent her freshman year at Saint Louis before transferring to Western Illinois as a sophomore. After graduating last spring, Zars transferred to GCU with 919 career points and is third on the team in points per game (9.7) this season.

Columbia pulled within five points twice before the Lopes closed out the quarter with an 11-point, 26-15 advantage. GCU never led by less than that for the remainder of the game and shut down the Cougar offense in the second quarter, holding it to six points while scoring 31.

The Lopes went into the break with a 57-21 lead.

Eleven GCU players earned a tally in the score column, including freshman forward Alaina Harper who had 15 points and eight rebounds and classmate Emma Krueger with five points and seven boards (five offensive). Sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins was nearly perfect, shooting 6 of 7 from the floor with 13 points in 12 minutes, while junior forward Olivia Lane had her second straight double-digit performance with 11 points and four rebounds in her first two GCU appearances following knee rehabilitation.

"It was a good opportunity to get some of the young kids some experience," Miller said. "Definitely shared the love today, which is not a bad thing this time of year."

GCU takes a one-week break before taking on Idaho at home on Sunday, Dec. 18. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.