Lopes come up short in 2OT

Friday, November 23

Phoenix, Ariz.

Noon

Grand Canyon

Indiana State

OT 1

OT 2

Indiana St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Slaven Gujic

11/23/2018 2:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Four score in double-digits

By: Sarah Woodward

Three Grand Canyon women's basketball players tallied career-high marks and four were in double digits in the double overtime battle with Indiana State, but the Lopes (1-3) came up short to the Sycamores (3-0), 88-81, on Friday afternoon at GCU Arena.

Freshman Laura Piera led the Lopes with a career-best 18 points on the game, as she shot 7-11 from the field. The game marks the third-straight in double-digits for Piera.

The duo of redshirt freshman Taylor Howard and senior ShaRon Miller set career-high marks as well. Howard tallied 10 points and Miller had 15 pairs with eight rebounds, while freshman Taylor Caldwell was in double digits as well with 12.

Senior Kavita Akula and freshman Carla Balague each had nine, while Balague led the Lopes on the glass with nine boards. Akula dished out a team-best six assists on the game.

The Lopes trailed by six, 23-17, after the first quarter but seven second-quarter points from Howard including a last-second 3-pointer put GCU ahead by one, 36-35, at the half.

GCU took its largest lead of nine points, 52-43, halfway through the third quarter, but the Sycamores came back to lead the Lopes, 68-67, with under a minute to play in the game.

Akula drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds on the clock to put GCU up by two, 70-68, but Indiana State put in a layup to force overtime.

The Lopes and the Sycamores added five points apiece in the first overtime to force a second, but Indiana State used the final five-minute period to pull away for the win.

GCU returns tomorrow at 2 p.m. to face LIU Brooklyn in the GCU Thanksgiving Showdown finale.