Lopes nipped at WAC tourney

Friday, March 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

1 P.M.

Grand Canyon

16-14, 9-5WAC

CSU Bakersfield

18-12, 10-4WAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Grand Canyon	16	16	14	9	55
CSU Bakersfield	14	21	15	11	61

3/9/2018 4:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

GCU goes scoreless for final 4:50 of 61-55 loss

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

LAS VEGAS – The Grand Canyon women's basketball team came so far already this season.

The Lopes had beaten Western Athletic Conference champion New Mexico State and denied Cal State Bakersfield a chance at the title. GCU won the program's first WAC Tournament game and led a second-round game with 4:50 remaining Friday.

But with no points on their last seven possessions of the semifinal, the Lopes were denied another program leap when it lost 61-55 to Cal State Bakersfield at Orleans Arena.

The Lopes (16-14) did so many things well in the semifinal. They jumped out to a 14-6 lead. They handled Bakersfield's pressure well. They kept the WAC's top offensive rebounding team to eight second-chance points.

With an 8-0 run keyed by senior Jessica Gajewski, the Lopes led 54-52 with 5:45 remaining and had their final lead, 55-54, after a Brie Mobley free throw with 4:50 to go. But in a game that GCU made its first five 3-pointers, it missed its final eight 3-point shots, including five in the final 4:50.

"It was just a grind," GCU head coach Nicole Powell said. "I'm really, really proud of our team. We didn't do everything perfect. We didn't make every shot but they fought. They played so hard. They left it all on the court. That has been our goal all season – to leave it all out there and do our very best. I thought today everybody did that. It was tough in the locker room."

Mobley, a senior, played the entire game and led GCU with a game-high 16 points, getting 13 of those in the second half after a one-for-seven first half. She also shared the team lead in rebounds (seven) with junior reserve ShaRon Miller. Gajewski added 14 points.

"It's just really disappointing," Gajewski said. "You work so hard and then you leave it all out there but you don't come up with a win."

The undersized Lopes only trailed the Roadrunners (18-12) by three on the boards and got nine first-half points from sophomore Vanessa Murphy, who averages 4.3 points. The Lopes trailed 35-32 at halftime despite making only three turnovers and did not hold a second-half lead until Gajewski's basket with 5:45 to go.

"She's an amazing coach," Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall said of Powell. "She's done a tremendous job of turning that program around and keeping it going. She took what she had with what she brought in and then just made them a team that could compete night in and night out. She had some great wins in the conference. She's a tremendous coach. She's going to be really good for this conference and that program."

That was evident from how a first-year staff with four returnees was able to be in position to reach the WAC championship game in Friday's final minutes. But much of what happened down the stretch with Bakersfield's 7-0 closing run had to do with the Roadrunners' defense, which led the WAC in scoring defense (55.9 points allowed per game) and opponent field goal percentage (36.4).

"It's a hard one," Mobley said. "We'll need a few days to get over it."