Record-breaking rout ends 2020

Monday, December 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

7-1

Arizona Christian

5-2

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Arizona Christian	15	12	23	15	65
Grand Canyon	22	22	34	19	97

Photo by: Elizabeth Tinajero

12/21/2020 4:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU broke several marks in 97-65 home win against ACU

By: Sierra Smith

The Grand Canyon women's basketball team beat Arizona Christian 97-65 in record-breaking fashion Monday to end the whirlwind of a 2020 year.

The Lopes broke GCU Division I-era records for points in a game (97), points in a single quarter (34) and opponent turnovers (36) for the second time this season as they rolled at GCU Arena with freshman center Katie Scott's 34 points, also a Lopes DI-era record.

GCU (7-1) previously set the scoring record at 93 in the season opener and broke the opponent turnovers mark with 28 in the second game.

"I saw some things from practice carry over and that's what I'm really proud of," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "Especially in our pressure full-court defense, there were some little fixes that we needed to make and I saw them show up today."

Three GCU players posted double-digit points, with junior power forward Carla Balague (season-high 12) and junior guard Tianna Brown (10) joining Scott.

Scott, the WAC Player of the Week, scored her 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting in only 24 minutes and added career highs for rebounds (13) and steals (five). It marked Scott's second double-double of the season, pushing her season averages to 19.8 points and 6.4 rebounds with 60.2% shooting.

"Sometimes, freshmen go through a little slump right at this time because they're no longer a surprise," Miller said. "Teams have film on them. They can scout them. So I'm really pleased with Katie's, not only composure, but just 'sticking-with-it' factor."

GCU busted the game open with a 34-point third quarter, when sophomore guard Taylor Caldwell scored seven points during a 13-0 run that put the Lopes ahead 60-32.

GCU came up with 25 steals, led by junior point guard Laura Piera matching her career high with six.

After the Christmas break, the Lopes will welcome Park (Ariz.) to GCU Arena for its final nonconference game on Jan. 3. GCU opens WAC play at home Jan. 8-9 with back-to-back games against Tarleton.

"It's exciting," Miller said. "You build up to this point and conference is kind of another beast in itself, but you want a tough nonconference slate to get you prepared for conference and I thought we did a really good job of taking care of business up until now."