LAS CRUCES, N.M. ‑ The Grand Canyon women's basketball team led New Mexico State at halftime but lost on the road 69-58 on Thursday night to slide to second place in the WAC.
GCU (15-10, 10-4 WAC) was led by a pair of freshmen in scoring with point guard
Jada Holland having a team-high 17 points to go with four assists and two steals while shooting guardÂ
Tavia Rowell added 16 points and four rebounds.
The Lopes now trail first-place Kansas City by a half-game for the conference lead.
The Aggies (10-17, 7-7 WAC) outscored the Lopes 44-22 in the paint wiht 46% shooting from the field. NMSU's Andrianna Henderson went 6 for 6 from the field for a team-high 15 points.
GCU took a 36-35 lead into halftime after a last-season baseline jumper by Rowell. The Lopes only trailed 54-52 after senior power forward
Da'jah Daniel scored with 6:42 remaining in the game before a 15-2 NMSUÂ run.
The Lopes are back in action on Saturday at UT Rio Grande Valley.
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