GCU captures conference opener in Chicago

Thursday, December 30

Chicago, Ill.

5 p.m. (Phoenix Time)

Grand Canyon

8-4,1-0WAC

Chicago State

1-9,0-1WAC

Grand Canyon

Chicago St.

Photo by: Sierra Smith

12/30/2021 8:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Strong 2nd half puts Lopes over Cougars 66-49; Graham scores 25

By: Sierra Smith

CHICAGO — The Grand Canyon women's basketball team opened WAC play with a 66-49 win at Chicago State Thursday night.

"I thought we weathered the storm of early foul trouble in the second half and had much better effort and purpose in the second half," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "It's never going to be easy on the road, so getting our first road win of the conference season is a big bonus for us."

GCU graduate guard Amara Graham, last season's WAC scoring leader, kicked off conference play in her hometown with an astounding 25-point performance, including a career-high six 3-pointers. She also had two assists, shot 3 for 3 from the free throw line and scored 13 in the game's decisive third quarter.

"I'm constantly on AG (Amara Graham) to shoot the ball, so I had to give her a little 'I told you so' tease after the game," Miller said. "It's great seeing that basketball go in the hole for her, she is definitely an offensive weapon out there for us."

Graduate forward Jay McChristine pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second-chance opportunities for GCU, grabbing 22 boards and turning them into 18 second-chance points. It marked the Lopes' highest offensive rebounding total of the past five seasons.

The Lopes defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Thursday's game, forcing 22 Chicago State turnovers while holding the Cougars to 33% shooting. Those takeaways turned into 32 points for the Lopes, who were led in steals by sophomore guard Tiarra Brown with three.

GCU (8-4) came out in the first quarter with a 6-2 lead at the 6:49 mark, but a 9-0 run by Chicago State gave the Cougars their biggest lead at 11-6. The Lopes trailed 16-13 at the end of the period.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle to finish the first half tied at 33-33. There were five times that the game was tied in the second quarter alone.

Graham dominated the third quarter, going 3 for 3 behind the arc on top of making two free throws. The Lopes headed into the fourth quarter with a 51-42 advantage.

The Lopes outscored the Cougars 15-7 in the fourth, giving them a 15-point win to end 2021 with a bang and start conference play at 1-0.

"We are anxious to use this bye week to focus and tighten up on some areas we need to become more consistent in," Miller said. "Carryover from practice to a game as well as preparedness is going will be major points of emphasis for us moving forward. We are excited to start the new year back at home."

Up next, GCU welcomes UT Rio Grande Valley to GCU Arena on Thursday and Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 8.