New talent thrives because of Miller's base group

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

9/26/2023 7:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

GCU opens official practice with expecation to hit 'next level' with 8 newcomers

By: Paul Coro

The Grand Canyon women's basketball team returns two players who started 29 games apiece last season and another pair that was limited to beginning or ending the season as a starter because of injury.

But with two other Lopes returnees and eight newcomers, the GCU player perspective is giving fourth-year head coach Molly Miller the kind of difficult math equation that she embraces.

Practice overhead

"Everyone's like, 'Wow, we've got 14 starters,' " Miller said. "For them to think that it's that competitive is really exciting for us."

The roster renovation has been unveiled in the past three months' offseason work of court skills and weight room sessions, but this week's first official practices inject new life of heavy breaths into GCU with "Camp Week."

It is Miller's weeklong, themed sessions of Camp Go (transition offense) and Camp Buckets (scoring and creating offense) before her favorites – an all-defensive practice for Camp Lockdown and a session of taking charges, diving for loose balls, setting screens and grabbing rebounds for Camp Grit.

"Camp Week and Christmas, those are two great holidays for me," Miller said.

But the Lopes are putting in work to go beyond the winning seasons and top-10 defensive rankings and become the program's first NCAA Division I tournament team.

"It hasn't been good enough for us," Miller said. "It hasn't been good enough for me. It hasn't been good enough for our returners. We're there and we're building and we have something to build on, but now it's time to get to that next level."

Transfer talent was drawn to GCU to bolster the roster with All-WAC first-team guard Trinity San Antonio (via California Baptist), four-year starting forward Shay Fano (via Utah Valley), sharpshooting Valley native Anna Ostlie (via Boise State), GCU's former WAC Freshman of the Year Jada Holland (via San Jose State), All-Big West Defensive Team honorees Callie Cooper (via UC Santa Barbara) and Kristyna Jeskeova (via Long Beach State) and twin threats Laura Erikstrup and Sydney Erikstrup (via San Diego and Arizona State, respectively).

Trinity San Antonio

After averaging 14.1 points and 3.7 assists last season, San Antonio wanted a coach who fueled her fire and the 5-foot-10 guard knew she had found one in the coach who she had been hearing from the opposite bench five times in the past two seasons.

"Whenever we played against her (Miller), I'd always hear her yelling on the sidelines, but she's always happy and inviting," said San Antonio, who also plays for Puerto Rico's national team. "She has this spirit about her that you want to be around.

"The (GCU) coaches hold you to a higher standard, not only on the court but off the court. They're just good people who want you to succeed on and off the court, which is a big emphasis when you go to a program. You want to be valued as a person and a player."

But as much as the Lopes' potential is strengthened with eight new players, their four-player base of starters who contributed to last season's 21-10 team is what maintains the program identity.

Senior star Tiarra Brown, Miller's first recruit when she took the job in 2020, joins junior guard Naudia Evans and senior power forward Olivia Lane as returning leading scorers who each averaged more than 11 points last season. Graduate guard Sydney Palma, whose season was sidelined by a knee injury, had delivered 20- and 22-point December games before being hurt.

"Having those kids who have stuck with you throughout, that see what it looks like, that have seen the progress, can help the progress and move the bus along is nice because the expectations are set," Miller said. "They know the standards and expectations. So when they come in there, they can take the ones that don't know under their wings and say, 'This is what it's going to be like. Hop on because we have goals we want to attain this year.' "

The expectations always start with defense, where GCU has ranked in the top four nationally for steals per game in each of Miller's three seasons. That pairs with three top-10 rankings for opponent turnovers per game.

The way the Lopes anticipate to lunge into passing lanes and slide in front of pivoting dribblers is second nature for the returning group, which also includes sophomore McKenna Simons and redshirt freshman Asha Sra.

"I know what we need," Brown said after 69 career starts at GCU. "I know what the coaches want. From them, it goes down to me and goes down to my teammates, especially if they're new. It's a buy-in moment for everyone and everyone's locked in."