When he found them, he nailed it.
“Our players represented Grand Canyon with great passion and endurance and the absolute will to win,” said May after his team beat UC San Diego 120-118 in triple overtime at the Fourth Annual Division II Disney Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.
“You have a lot of wins and losses in a career as a coach; some games you’ll never forget,” he added. “This is one you’ll treasure and, thankfully, never forget.”
Five school records and numerous classic records were broken in the victory that saw senior guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ, Xavier Prep) named tournament MVP.
Murphy scored a tournament and school record 49 points before fouling out in the first overtime. The GCU scoring record was 22 years old (the same age as Murphy), set in the program’s initial season in 1988-89. Cindy Kinderknecht went for 40 on Dec. 31, 1988.
The 120 points broke the school record for points in a game. GCU scored 119 in a win over Fort Lewis on Jan. 1, 1993. The combined 238 points are also a record.
Murphy’s 18 made free throws broke a record she co-owned. She had hit 16 twice in her career. Kelly McRee, in 2004, also had a 16 free-throw game. The 37 free throws made by the team broke the old mark of 32 set on Jan. 5, 1994 against Western New Mexico
“This was a huge team effort,” Murphy said. “This is probably the most memorable game I’ve ever played in. This was an awesome tournament and I’m happy we were invited to play. There were a lot of great teams and we beat a nationally-ranked team.”
GCU, No. 13 Alaska-Anchorage and Texas Woman’s University all went 2-1 in the event. UC San Diego went 0-3. On point differential, Alaska-Anchorage was awarded the team championship. GCU, which also beat TWU, was named runner-up.
“This was one of those games where you really have to give everyone credit to mentally stay in it that long,” added May. “It was a battle of wills. Physically, you can’t do it, but you’re mind has to take you places your body doesn’t want to go.”
For UCSD, Chelsea Carlisle nearly matched Murphy point-for-point. She finished with 46.
“My hats off to (UCSD),” said May. “Chelsea is a special player. To witness two incredible players and class-act players go toe-to-toe. It was like a heavyweight championship fight.”
It was a championship fight. It was a marathon race; and a marathon comeback.
GCU trailed 19-2 to start the game and as much as 10 with three minutes remaining in regulation. The deficit was nine until Murphy hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 left to cut it to 78-72. Rosalyn Nelson (Phoenix, AZ, Deer Valley) and Jazmyn Foster (Phoenix, Ariz., Thunderbird, New Mexico State) added buckets to cut it to 80-76 with 30 seconds to go, but the Tritons Emily Osga hit two free throws to make it 82-76. Murphy answered with a trey and, after a UCSD turnover, was fouled on a 3-point attempt. She hit all three free throws to tie the game with just 14.7 seconds to go.
“This shows we never give up,” said Nelson, who played 51 minutes. “We kept fighting to the very, very end. We’re a well-rounded team and anyone can do well at any time, whether it’s a bench player or a starter.”
Nelson kept the game alive by banking in a 3-pointer with just .9 seconds left in the first overtime.
“I had five seconds and I knew if I passed it, the shot would be too late, so I went for it,” she said. “I felt like it was going to go in.”
GCU had to play most of the extra sessions without Murphy, who fouled out with 2:30 left in the first overtime.
After junior Stevie Kamp (Mesa, Ariz., Mountain View, Nova Southeastern) hit two free throws to start the third overtime, Grand Canyon never trailed. Freshman Maylinn Smith (Gilbert, Ariz., Mesquite) had six points in the final session. She was part of the 44-point contribution from the ‘Lopes bench.
Smith had 17 points and 12 rebounds and junior center Jallisa Butler (Las Vegas, Nev., Cimarron, Barstow CC), who played only two minutes in the first half, finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. She was 10-of-12 from the field.
“The (game’s) intensity was very high,” Butler said. “I never thought about anything but grabbing rebounds and playing defense.
“It felt awesome that coach relied on me and I was able to come in and help us win.”
UCSD forced the third overtime when, trailing by three, Daisy Feder hit three free throws with only 1.1 seconds left.
Murphy hit 13-of-23 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range and 18-of-19 at the line. Nelson and Murphy were co-team leaders in assists with four apiece. Butler’s two steals and 13 boards were both team highs. Six of Butler’s rebounds came on the offensive end. Nelson finished with 19 points.
Grand Canyon (2-1) will play host to the GCU/Crowne Plaza Tip-Off Classic at Antelope Gymnasium. GCU will play Queens College on Friday and University of Southern Indiana -- like Grand Canyon receiving votes in the national poll -- on Saturday. Both games start at 5 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment