Senior Vanessa Power poured in a season-high 27 points, but the
Ravens fell to Grand Canyon in double-overtime.
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Antelopes rally from 12-point 2nd half deficit, outscore Ravens
16-7 in second OT
Boxscore
MESA, Ariz. (December 31,
2008) - Grand Canyon University rallied from a 12-point
deficit late in regulation to force overtime and went on to post a
94-85 double-overtime victory over Franklin Pierce University,
ranked No. 23 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II
poll, on day three of the 2008 Trip Sports Grand Canyon Classic at
Skyline High School late Tuesday night.
Sophomore Samantha Murphy
(Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep) led Grand Canyon with a
career-best 30 points (20 after halftime) as she hit 10-of-18 shots
from the field and converted 9-of-11 free-throw attempts to go with
seven rebounds and seven steals. Junior Rosalyn Nelson
(Phoenix, Ariz./Deer Valley) added 17 points, eight
rebounds, six assists and three steals, while classmate
Stacy Haddow (Chino Valley, Ariz./Chino Valley)
posted 16 points, converting 11-of-12 free-throw attempts, eight
rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Dana Iverson
(Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins) chipped in 11 points
for the Antelopes.
Senior Vanessa Power
(Mildura, Australia) led Franklin Pierce with a
season-high 27 points (one shy of her career-best) off the bench,
hitting 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 6-for-9 from
three-point range, and converting 5-of-6 free-throws to go with
three rebounds and two assists. It marks just the fourth time in
the last three seasons that one of the Ravens' Leedham sisters has
not led the team in scoring (second time in three games).
Junior All-American Johannah Leedham added 18 points, nine
rebounds, five steals and three assists before fouling out early in
the first overtime.
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Junior All-American and Great
Britain international Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port,
England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)), the reigning State
Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, added 18 points before
fouling out just over a minute into the first overtime period as
she made 7-of-15 shots from the field to go with nine rebounds,
five steals and three assists. Sophomore Tori Ahrens (East
Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) posted 13 points and five
rebounds, while senior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port,
England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) chipped in ten points
and six assists.
Franklin Pierce, which led by a
game-high 14 (61-47) after a Power three-pointer with 8:46 left in
the second half, was up 13 (64-51) after an Ahrens layup with 6:14
to play. The Ravens lead was 12 (66-54) on a layup from sophomore
Ashley Robinson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Nova) with
5:24 to play, when Grand Canyon reeled off a 15-0 run to take a
three-point lead (69-66) on a Haddow layup with 13-seconds to go.
It was the first time the Antelopes led since scoring the first
basket of the game.
Power drained another three to
force overtime. Grand Canyon gained the early advantage in the
extra session (70-69) when junior Erin Murphy (El Paso,
Texas/Americas) hit one of two free-throws after Johannah
Leedham fouled out with 3:58 left. Iverson scored a put back to
give Grand Canyon a three-point cushion (72-69) with 3:25 to go,
but Power knotted the score again with a three on Franklin Pierce's
next possession.
Sophomore Tori Ahrens chipped in 13 points and five rebounds.
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Power hit another three to give the
Ravens a three-point lead (75-72) with 1:15 remaining and the
Ravens lead was two (78-76) after she made one of two free-throws
with 14-seconds left. Grand Canyon had one last chance to force
overtime or get the win and Haddow was fouled with three-seconds to
go. She made both free-throws to force a second overtime.
The game was tied at 82-82 after
Franklin Pierce freshman Marielle Giroud (Martigny,
Switzerland) scored a lay-up with 2:11 left. Grand Canyon
regained the lead for good with a Samantha Murphy jumper with 2:26
to go that sparked a decisive 8-0 run that put the Antelopes up
90-82 with 19-seconds remaining after two Murphy free-throws.
Grand Canyon finished shooting
45.5-percent (30-for-66) for the contest, including 20-36 (55.6%)
after halftime. The Antelopes outscored Franklin Pierce 30-17 at
the line despite going to the stripe just seven more times and made
14-of-19 attempts over the two overtimes. The Ravens shot
46-percent (29-for-63) from the field, including 50% (13-26) in the
second half. Grand Canyon also out-rebounded the Ravens by a 50-33
margin, which resulted in a 20-4 advantage in second-chance points,
and the game featured a combined 64 turnovers (33 FPU, 31 GCU).
Franklin Pierce (6-4, 4-3 NE-10) is
back in action on Sunday, January 4, when it returns to the
Northeast and hosts Wilmington (Del.) University at 1 p.m. The game
will be broadcast live on WEEI 93.5 FM Keene. Grand Canyon (5-6,
0-0 PacWest) visits Notre Dame de Namur on Friday and Saturday.
