Box Score Dominant on both ends of the court, Grand Canyon moved back to .500 in the Western Athletic Conference and one game from the mark overall with a 73-49 victory over Chicago State at GCU Arena Thursday.
The Antelopes (12-13, 6-6) built their lead in the first half with strong shooting from the perimeter -- eight first-half three-pointers – and holding Chicago State (4-22, 1-11) to only 29.2 percent shooting. The Lopes controlled the boards throughout the game, winning that battle, 49-30.
For postgame reaction from Jared Cohen and Jenna Pearson and interviews with coach Trent May and August Touchard, click here.Touchard and
Jessica Gajewski each had four treys for the game. Touchard led all scorers with 18, going 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Off the bench, Gajewski had 16 on 4-of-8 from three-point range. She was two points shy of tying her career-high.Â
Astrea Reed got in the act from downtown, too. She was 2-of-3 in the first half and finished the game with 10 points.
The Lopes had assists on their first 13 baskets and 14 of 15 first-half makes. They had 19 assists for the game, second most this season (23 vs. San Diego Christian) and most in a WAC game. Point guard
Courtney Hayes tied her career high with eight. Touchard and
Casey Rarrick each had three.
Cheyenne Hedrington led GCU rebounders with seven. Six Lopes had four rebounds or more. Hayes added six and Reed and
Zelor Massaquoi each had five.
GCU went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the first half to turn an 8-7 lead into a 15-7 advantage. It started with a Touchard trey. At 18-12 with 8:29 left in the half, GCU went on an 18-4 spurt to take a 20-point lead, 36-16. Gajewski had three three-pointers and 11 straight GCU points. The Lopes led by as much as 26 points, taking a 62-36 advantage on a Hayes' jumper.
The final regular-season home game is 2 p.m. Saturday at GCU Arena against Kansas City. It is the GCU Breast Cancer Awareness Game. Fans unable to attend can follow the action with links at
www.gculopes.com.
GCU 73, CSU 49
