Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Utah State on October 27, 2026 at 3 p.m.
W Basketball
3 p.m.
vs Utah State
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, December 23
Phoenix, Ariz.
12 p.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
UC Irvine
Photo by: Elizabeth Tinajero
GCU closes nonconference with UC Irvine
12/22/2021 2:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lopes return to GCU Arena to face Anteaters after 3 weeks away
Thursday, Dec. 23 | Noon  | GCU Arena |
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UC IRVINE
ANTEATERS (5-5)
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vs. | GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-4) |
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| WATCH: Livestream | STATS: View | ||||
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THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- DEFENSE STAYING HOT:Â The Lopes rank No. 1 nationally for steals per game (15.2), No. 4 for turnovers forced per game (25.2), No. 6 for total steals (152) and No. 7 for turnover margin (plus-8.3).
- FIRST FRESHMAN STARTER: GCU freshman guard Naudia Evans earned the first start of her collegiate career at the South Padre Island Classic last weekend, making her the first Lopes freshman to start a game this season.
- HAPPY TO BE HOME:Â The Lopes are happy to be back at GCU Arena, where they are 5-0 this season and 17-1 in head coach Molly Miller's two seasons.Â
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
- The Anteaters (5-5) started their Arizona trip with a 69-52 loss at Arizona State on Tuesday.
- Kayla Williams leads the team with 13 points per game. She also averages 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.
- Chloe Webb, a 5-foot-8Â guard, is leading the boards for UC Irvine with 6.1 per game.
- Seven Anteaters stand over 6 feet tall, with three of those players being freshmen.
- Head coach Tamara Inoue, who is in her sixth season at UC Irvine, was named Big West Co-Coach of the Year for 2020-21 after leading the Anteaters to a 15-9 record and 11-4 conference record to finish second in the regular season. The Anteaters reached the Big West Tournament championship game for the first time since 1997.
LAST TIME OUT
GCU vs. Liberty
- The Lopes battled hard until the end but fell to Liberty 76-61 on Day 1 of the South Padre Island Classic on Friday.
- Graduate forward Jay McChristine led the GCU offense with 15 points. She also added four rebounds and a game-high three steals for the Lopes.
- Joining McChristine in double figures was sophomore guard Tiarra Brown, who scored 12 points with six rebounds, and graduate guard Amara Graham, who posted 12 points and five assists.
- The Lopes forced 18 Liberty turnovers, turning those takeaways into 12 points.
- The Lopes shot 30.8% in the third quarter, putting them at a 54-45 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter.
GCU vs. UTSA
- Brown collected a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the Lopes to a 62-52 win over UT San Antonio in Saturday's final game of the South Padre Island Classic.
- Joining Brown in double figures was her sister, senior guard Tianna Brown, who had 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting with four assists and two steals. Graham added 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists
- The GCU defense held UTSA to 34.6% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners did not get many second opportunities with only nine offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points, while the Lopes pulled down 29 defensive rebounds. GCU won the boards 38-31.
- The Lopes extended their lead to 10 points with a 3-pointer from Evans to start the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 UTSA run cut the GCU lead to four with 7:19 to play. It was a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the quarter, but GCU came out on top, winning its first game away from GCU this season.
WHAT'S NEXT?
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GCU begins conference play on Thursday, Dec. 30, at Chicago State.
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Players Mentioned
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