Lopes down UTRGV in last second finish

Saturday, January 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

2:00 P.M.

Grand Canyon

10-6, 2-1WAC

UTRGV

12-8, 2-2WAC

UTRGV

Grand Canyon

1/14/2017 5:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Lisa Amsler

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon women's basketball team came from behind to defeat UT Rio Grande Valley 60-59 in the final seconds of the game on Saturday afternoon, soaring to 10-6 (2-1 WAC) on the season.

Brie Mobley made the game winning shot before the buzzer, shooting 8-of-20 from the field and racking up a total of 20 points. She tied with Marina Laramie for a team-leading 20 points on the day, marking the first time two Lopes have cracked the 20 point mark in the same game this year. Zelor Massaquoi pulled down a career-high 12 boards Saturday afternoon. Aniya Baker also led the team with a season-high eight assists.

How it Happened
Despite an early lead taken by UTRGV, the Lopes stayed within a six point deficit and quickly turned things around. While the defense held the Vaqueros scoreless for the remaining five minutes of the first quarter, the offense fought back to tie the game 14-14 going into the second.

It was a bac- and-forth battle to finish out the first half, with both teams working defensively to only score a combined 16 points. UTRGV was able to pull ahead in the last two minutes off four straight free throws to lead the Lopes 24-20.

Going into the third quarter, both teams turned up their offense. UTRGV maintained its lead that was established before the half, but the Lopes stayed close on their heels. Massaquoi scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 31-31 with just under six minutes remaining, but the Lopes couldn't break away for a lead. Heading into the final quarter trailing 39-35, the Lopes still managed to go 2-for-2 in free throws and make 40 percent of their shots.

UTRGV drained a triple for the first shot of the 4th Quarter while the Lopes struggled to find the net at first. With just over six minutes to go, the Lopes took off on an 8-0 run to finally pull ahead of the Vaqueros 52-50. It was a back and forth point battle all the way up until the buzzer, Massaquoi soared to grabbed the UTRGV board to give the Lopes one final opportunity with 17 seconds on the clock. With a beautifully drawn up play, Mobley's secured the game-winning layup at 13 seconds to carry the Lopes into a 60-59 lead over the Vaqueros.

Lopes Quotes
"We sustained runs. They kept going on them and we kept fighting back, just wondering if we were going to get over that hump. We took the lead and they were hitting three's late and we talked about that. But those are big shots by big players, that's what it takes. Thankfully we hung in there, we got the rebound, we were able to score some baskets. Obviously, that late basket was drawn up great and executed great and those are the moments you've got to be able to execute. We missed layups at the beginning of the game, but thankfully we were able to finish at the end of the game. The players that weren't doing their normal thing, didn't give up continued to fight and that's character."

Lopes Notes

Marina Laramie and Brie Mobley put up 20 points on the day. Marking the first time two Lopes have achieved the feat in the same game since Jan.12 of the 2015-16 season against Chicago State.
Zelor Massaquoi pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds on the day, including the board that gave GCU the opportunity to win the game. She has led GCU in boards six times this season.
Aniya Baker tied a career-high with eight assists against UTRGV. She also added four steals.
Casey Rarrick accounted for eight of GCU's 25 points in the fourth, draining a pair of triples and going 2-of-3 from the field. She combined for 13 points of the day.
Laramie (8), Rarrick (8), and Mobley (9) accounted for all of GCU's 25 points in the fourth period.
Laramie collected her first career block as a Lopes against the Vaqueros.
GCU grabbed 41 boards the second highest total by the squad this season.
GCU shot 62.5 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to come from seven down to claim the win, going 10-of-16 and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The Lopes shot 37.7 percent on the night compared to the Vaqueros' 33.3 percent and hit 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from the free throw line.