Exhibition vs. Benedictine starts 2023-24 season

Monday, October 30

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Benedictine (Ariz.)

10/29/2023 1:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GCU preps for regular season with GCU Arena debut at 6 p.m. Monday

By: Nick Macdonald

Monday, Oct. 30 \| 6 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	BENEDICTINE (ARIZ.) REDHAWKS	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES

LISTEN: LINK \| STATS: LINK

Grand Canyon opens the 2023-24 campaign with an exhibition contest versus Benedictine (Ariz.) on Monday evening at GCU Arena.
It is the first meeting between the two Arizona schools since a regular-season matchup on Dec. 2, 2020.
The Lopes have outscored its opposition 189-107 in two previous exhibition games under head coach Molly Miller.

GCU returns six players from last year's team that won 21 games and made it to the WAC Tournament semifinal for the third consecutive season.
The returnees include 2022-23 All-WAC first-team player Tiarra Brown as well as last season's leading scorer, Naudia Evans. Starters Olivia Lane and Sydney Palma return, with McKenna Simons and Asha Sra also back.
The Lopes brought in eight new players via the transfer portal. Trinity San Antontion, a 2022-23 All-WAC first-team player for California Baptist, headlines GCU's new arrivals, with 2022-23 Big West Defensive Player of the Year Kristyna Jeskeova and Utah Valley forward Shay Fano also joining the squad. Callie Cooper, Jada Holland, Anna Ostlie, Laura Erikstrup and Sydney Erikstrup round out the newcomer group that is set to begin its first season in Phoenix.

The Lopes begin year 36 overall and year 11 in the Division I era on Monday night.
Head coach Molly Miller enters her third season in Phoenix and 10th overall, owning a 61-27 record as the Lopes head coach and 241-44 overall mark.
Miller enters the season ranked fourth among active coaches in winning percentage (.846). She trails only Kim Caldwell (Marshall), Geno Auriemma (UConn) and Kim Mulkey (LSU).
GCU was tabbed first in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, tallying six first-place votes. In addition, San Antonio and Brown were named to the Preseason All-WAC Team. The Lopes are the only team with multiple players on the conference's preseason team.
The Lopes are 37-8 at GCU Arena since Miller took the helm in 2020. GCU has won at least 12 games at home in each of her three seasons in Phoenix, including a season-high 13 last year. The Lopes have 17 games at home this season, including six of the first seven regular-season contests.

Benedictine (Ariz.) begins its season at GCU Arena, the first meeting against the Lopes since 2020 and the fourth-ever meeting for the two in-state schools.
The Redhawks finished 15-13 last season with an 11-9 conference record. It registered a 10-7 record on the road with a 5-5 record in Mesa.
Elise Young returns after leading the team with 18.0 points per game. The senior shot 44.2% from the floor with a 29.7% mark from 3-[point range. She also grabbed 5.5 rebounds per game and recorded 2.5 steals and assists per contest.
Dyamond Butler-Worley led the Redhawks in rebounding, totaling 6.3 per game. She shot 42.8% from the field with 9.4 points and 1.0 blocks per game.
GCU is one of two Division I schools that the Redhawks will face this season. Benedictine travels north to face Northern Arizona on Nov. 15.

On Dec. 2, 2020, the Lopes won, 80-72, at GCU Arena in Miller's second game as Lopes head coach.
GCU led by four points at the half and three points after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth.
Katie Scott led the Lopes with 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting. The Lopes tallied 17 steals and 42 rebounds.