Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus San Diego State on February 4, 2026 , Win , 57, to, 44
W Basketball
vs San Diego State
W 57-44
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, November 8
Phoenix, Ariz.
12 p.m.
Grand Canyon
1-1,0-0WAC
76
vs
78
North Dakota
1-1,0-0Summit League
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 15 | 15 | 22 | 15 | 11 | 78 |
| Grand Canyon | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 9 | 76 |
Youth progresses, falls in overtime
11/8/2019 4:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
North Dakota downs GCU 78-76 despite Daniel's 21
The progress that the Grand Canyon women's basketball team showed over three days did not come with the reward of a win Friday but it does carry the promise of what lies in the weeks, even years, ahead for the program.
The Lopes improved from Tuesday's season-opening victory against a better opponent Friday but fell 78-76 in overtime to North Dakota at GCU Arena.
GCU (1-1) shut out North Dakota (1-1) for the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime but lost a 76-73 lead in the final 1:25 of the overtime. Senior power forward De'jah Daniel, the only Lopes upperclassmen in the 10-player rotation, overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Defensively, GCU held North Dakota to 37.7 percent shooting but allowed 15 second-chance points and 20 points on free throws.
"I am so proud of them," Lopes head coach Nicole Powell said. "I told them that in the locker room. I couldn't ask us to fight any harder than that. De'jah was a warrior today. Even though this one really hurts, think about all the positives. When this team can put it all together, it's beautiful basketball. We're going to be even better next. We made a ton of improvement in one week but I know we're going to continue to do that. It's hard to swallow a loss like this but this is a really fun team to coach."
GCU is playing six players who are in their first week of Division I basketball but received a 19-point game from freshman guard Tavia Rowell and a 15-point, 3-assist game from sophomore wing Tianna Brown, a transfer from Eastern Arizona. Sophomore power forward Carla Balague set a career high with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
The Lopes fell into a 60-52 hole in the fourth quarter before scoring on nine of the next 11 possessions to tie the game when Rowell went coast to coast for a left-handed scoring drive with 1:42 to go. GCU got a blocked shot from Daniel and steals from sophomore guard Laura Piera and freshman guard Jada Holland to deny North Dakota the lead but missed its final three regulation shots.
In overtime, Daniel put GCU ahead with three interior scores and Balague made it 76-73 with 1:25 to go when she finished on a pinpoint pick-and-roll pass from Piera, her fellow Spaniard who recorded seven assists and five steals. North Dakota answered with two scores from Jaclyn Jarnot, who scored 20 and got the go-ahead basket on a second chance.
After GCU was forced to foul, a free throw put the Fighting Hawks ahead 78-76 with 12.7 seconds remaining in overtime. A Balague jump shot rimmed off at the buzzer.
"They want to be good and they're willing to do whatever it takes," Powell said. "They are coachable. They've got great personalities as a unit. They love each other. I'm glad to be in the foxhole with these guys. Our season is just getting going and it's going to be a fun one."
GCU K12 Education Development hosted about 600 elementary and middle school students, including 122 Cordova Elementary School students who walked to the game from their nearby campus and enhanced the home-court environment.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Lopes improved from Tuesday's season-opening victory against a better opponent Friday but fell 78-76 in overtime to North Dakota at GCU Arena.
GCU (1-1) shut out North Dakota (1-1) for the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime but lost a 76-73 lead in the final 1:25 of the overtime. Senior power forward De'jah Daniel, the only Lopes upperclassmen in the 10-player rotation, overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Defensively, GCU held North Dakota to 37.7 percent shooting but allowed 15 second-chance points and 20 points on free throws.
"I am so proud of them," Lopes head coach Nicole Powell said. "I told them that in the locker room. I couldn't ask us to fight any harder than that. De'jah was a warrior today. Even though this one really hurts, think about all the positives. When this team can put it all together, it's beautiful basketball. We're going to be even better next. We made a ton of improvement in one week but I know we're going to continue to do that. It's hard to swallow a loss like this but this is a really fun team to coach."
GCU is playing six players who are in their first week of Division I basketball but received a 19-point game from freshman guard Tavia Rowell and a 15-point, 3-assist game from sophomore wing Tianna Brown, a transfer from Eastern Arizona. Sophomore power forward Carla Balague set a career high with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
The Lopes fell into a 60-52 hole in the fourth quarter before scoring on nine of the next 11 possessions to tie the game when Rowell went coast to coast for a left-handed scoring drive with 1:42 to go. GCU got a blocked shot from Daniel and steals from sophomore guard Laura Piera and freshman guard Jada Holland to deny North Dakota the lead but missed its final three regulation shots.
In overtime, Daniel put GCU ahead with three interior scores and Balague made it 76-73 with 1:25 to go when she finished on a pinpoint pick-and-roll pass from Piera, her fellow Spaniard who recorded seven assists and five steals. North Dakota answered with two scores from Jaclyn Jarnot, who scored 20 and got the go-ahead basket on a second chance.
After GCU was forced to foul, a free throw put the Fighting Hawks ahead 78-76 with 12.7 seconds remaining in overtime. A Balague jump shot rimmed off at the buzzer.
"They want to be good and they're willing to do whatever it takes," Powell said. "They are coachable. They've got great personalities as a unit. They love each other. I'm glad to be in the foxhole with these guys. Our season is just getting going and it's going to be a fun one."
GCU K12 Education Development hosted about 600 elementary and middle school students, including 122 Cordova Elementary School students who walked to the game from their nearby campus and enhanced the home-court environment.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
UND
GCU
FG%
.366
.453
3FG%
.300
.364
FT%
.714
.636
RB
51
34
TO
20
17
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
PG
/ Women's Basketball
PG
/ Women's BasketballG
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