“Honestly I thought it was the best game we’ve played all year,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “Grand Canyon really is a good team and I thought, just from the get-go, our defense was really on point, we were focused, and we outrebounded them. We attacked and went inside and, when they went into a zone, we hit some key three’s and that really separated the score.”
Seattle U scored the first four points on back-to-back layups by Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) and Alexis Montgomery (Beaverton, Ore.) before Grand Canyon would tie the game, 4-4, at 17:42. Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.) would hit a jumper at 16:39 to give the Redhawks a second lead, one they would keep throughout the remainder of the half.
Jenna Pearson hit a three-pointer to bring the Lopes within one, 8-7, at 14:58 and GCU would close the margin to just one two more times by 12:19. The Redhawks would outscore the Lopes, 8-1, over the next two and a half minutes to lead by eight, 22-14, at 9:23, their largest lead of the game to that point.
Grand Canyon would go on a 7-2 run to trail by three at 7:16 and would trail by three two more times over the next two and a half minutes, but back-to-back three’s by Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) would put Seattle U ahead by nine, 37-28, by the three-minute mark.
Kaitlyn Petersen was fouled with just under three minutes left before half but a jumper by Ward, scoring the Redhawks’ eight previous points, started a 6-0 SU run. SU gained their first double digit lead, 42-30, on a three by Montgomery at 2:02 and, after each team traded a free throw, Ward would cap off the half with a layup with 21 seconds remaining. Deanna Daniels went 1-for-2 from the line, fouled with one second remaining, as the Redhawks led by 13, 45-32, at the half.
Petersen opened up the second half with a 8-0 run as the Lopes trailed by just five, 45-40, at 18:33 but back-to-back baskets by Wilma Afunugo (Plano, Texas) would put the Redhawks back ahead by double digits, 50-40, a minute and a half later.
Daniels drove in a layup for GCU but Sowell and Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) combined for a 10-4 run as the Redhawks led, 61-49, with just over 12 minutes left. Fouled at 12:09, Ward hit both free throws and Sowell drove in three straight layups to kick off an 8-2 Seattle U run as they increased their lead to 20, 71-51, at 9:33.
Neither team scored over the next two minutes until Petersen made both free shots and Pearson drove in a layup. Makenna Clark (Lake Tapps, Wash.) hit a three to put the Redhawks ahead by 19, 74-55, at 5:53 before Petersen and Madison Craig drove in matching layups to come within 14, 74-60.
Seattle U would lead again by as many as 20, 80-60, at 3:33 on a 6-0 Redhawk run and again just over a minute later, 84-64, on back-to-back layups by Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.) and Afunugo at 2:06.
The Redhawks would gain their largest lead of the game, 86-64, at 1:51 following a Montgomery layup and Kim Flournoy (San Diego, Calif.) would close out the game with three straight free throws as Seattle U came away with the 89-68 win.
Seattle U shot 36-for-63 (57.1 percent) from the field and held Grand Canyon to just 33.9 percent (20-for-59) shooting from the field and just 27.8 percent (5-for-18) shooting from behind the three-point line. Grand Canyon led from the free-throw line, shooting 82.1 percent (23-for-28) to Seattle U’s 60 percent. SU outrebounded GCU, 48-26, and led in assists, 21-7.
Sowell led the Redhawks with 19 points, while Ward grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Petersen led all players with 28 points. Afunugo scored a career high 14 points in the win.
Seattle U (10-10, 5-2 WAC) hosts Idaho in their annual Play 4Kay game next Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. Fans can donate at www.play4kay.org/suwbb and can participate in various ways at the game.
Coach Bonvicini will appear on the Seattle U Coach’s Show on Monday, Jan. 27 from 7-8 p.m. at 13 Coins in Downtown Seattle. Fans can watch the show while it’s being taped or listen to the show from 9-10 p.m. on 770 KTTH.