Lopes fall to Titans on the road

Saturday, December 4

Fullerton, Calif.

3 p.m. (Phoenix time)

Grand Canyon

5-2,0-0WAC

Cal State Fullerton

4-3,0-0Big West

Grand Canyon

Cal St. Fullerton

Photo by: Sierra Smith

12/4/2021 7:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GCU drops to 5-2 with 60-53 loss at Cal State Fullerton

By: Sierra Smith

FULLERTON, Calif. — The Grand Canyon women's basketball team led 32-22 at halftime, but could not pull away in the second half and fell 60-53 at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.

"It was kind of a tale of two halves," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "I thought we really came out with lots of energy, playing on both sides of the ball how we want to and then just tailed off that second half, both defensively and our offensive movement."

The Lopes' scoring was led by graduate guard Amara Graham, who had 13 points and four assists. GCU junior guard Taylor Caldwell posted 11 points and three steals whiel graduate power forward Jay McChristine added eight points, seven rebounds and two steals.

McChristine pulled down two offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second-chance opportunities for GCU, grabbing 13 boards and turning them into 10 second-chance points.

The Lopes forced 18 Titan turnovers while committing 17. GCU turned those takeaways into 16 points on the other end of the floor. Caldwell's three steals led her team.

The Lopes started the scoring by going on a 10-0 run, culminating in a bucket from McChristine, to take early command with 5:32 left in the first quarter. The Lopes lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 14-11 advantage. GCU did most of its first-quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 14 points close to the basket.

GCU kept its first quarter lead in tact before going on an 11-0 run, starting at the 9:36 mark in the second period. A bucket from junior forward Dominique Phillips increased its lead to 25-11, the largest margin of the game. The Titans cut into that lead, but the Lopes still led 32-22 at halftime.

"On the bright side, I think we saw a team that's really capable of some really great basketball," Miller said. "We have to just regroup and continue to learn and continue to get better and use this opportunity to refocus. It's not going to get easier because we have three more on the road, so we've got to figure out a way to play how we did that first half for the entirety of the game."

With a game-low 10 points in the third quarter, the Lopes trailed 46-42 entering the fourth.

Cal State Fullerton kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 56-46 advantage before GCU went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Phillips' 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 56-51 with 1:27 to go. The Titans responded and outscored the Lopes the rest of the way, ending the game with a 60-53 win.

Up next, the Lopes continue their road stretch with an in-state foe tp tje north. GCU plays at Northern Arizona on Thursday at 6 p.m.