Lopes storm into WAC Tournament semis

Wednesday, March 10

Las Vegas, Nev.

8 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. MT

Grand Canyon

17-6,8-4WAC

UT Rio Grande Valley

6-14,2-8WAC

UTRGV

Grand Canyon

3/10/2021 11:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

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GCU led 10-0, 34-14 against UTRGV in 1st-round victory

By: Paul Coro

LAS VEGAS – The storm had been building in the GCU Basketball Facility for 11 days.

There, the temperature for WAC Tournament play was rising and the Grand Canyon women's basketball team unleashed the lightning and thunderbolts at the outset of its WAC Tournament first-round game.

The Lopes opened with a 10-0 blitz and followed with a 17-2 run moments later, overwhelming UT Rio Grande Valley 67-54 on Wednesday night at Orleans Arena. Third-seeded GCU (17-6) advances to a Friday semifinal against second-seeded Utah Valley (13-5) on Friday at 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) on ESPN+.

Lopes freshman guard Tiarra Brown opened Wednesday night's game with a rundown blocked shot to set up fellow freshman Katie Scott's 3-pointer. UTRGV had to call time out after only 3:21 of play because GCU led 10-0 after three consecutive layups, the last two coming off the Vaqueros' third and fourth turnovers.

After waiting all day to play the nightcap, the Lopes' energy came out like the release of a wind-up toy to produce the first career WAC Tournament victory for every player.

"There was really no looking back for us," Miller said. "I'm proud of the start when you don't play in 11 days. We got to work on us and you can kind of tell that. We played really nicely and jelled as a team out there."

UTRGV made a response with eight unanswered points from senior star Amara Graham before GCU locked down defensively, keeping the Vaqueros to two points over a stretch of 11 possessions. Brown, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, carved up UTRGV's defense on drives and four different Lopes sank four consecutive 3-pointers on the way to a 34-14 lead.

When junior guard Venla Varis became the sixth GCU player to make a 3 in the first half, the Lopes took a 43-22 lead to halftime with its defense creating 10 turnovers and keeping UTRGV to 27% shooting.

"Grand Canyon really frightened some of our players with their press and we didn't handle it very well," Vaqueros head coach Lane Lord said. "We didn't coach very well and all the credit goes to Grand Canyon."

UTRGV finished with 18 turnovers, below the GCU opponent average of 23.7 that ranks fourth nationally. That was misleading because the Vaqueros rushed shots to avoid pressure, taking more 3-pointers (27) than 2-pointers (25).

Tianna Brown

"I think they were a little bit out of rhythm," Miller said. "We call that a shot turnover if you force them into a quick shot. If they take a quick shot because they're rushed and they feel that pressure coming and we get the rebound, that's just as good for us."

The Lopes had to navigate foul trouble for guards Laura Piera and Taylor Caldwell and tried to rest others' legs with hopes of a three-game stay in Las Vegas. GCU senior guard Ny'Dajah Jackson took on the backcourt load, delivering 16 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists in 32 minutes after she scored a season-high 19 in the regular-season finale.

Brown was part of a high-energy group that collected 13 offensive rebounds and fed off the support of the 125 allotted GCU supporters. Combine that with UTRGV's 18 turnovers and the Lopes were able to take 16 more shots than the Vaqueros.

"I feel like it went exactly how we wanted it to go," Brown said. "We prepared a lot for this game. We worked a lot defensively on just making them uncomfortable with the ball. Even though we didn't get as many tips and make them lose the ball out of their hands, we let them know that the pressure was there."

Brown had another gear on half-court drives and transition play, hitting a turbo blast past Vaqueros for a driving score that gave GCU its largest lead at 62-36 with eight minutes to play.

UTRGV finished with 35% shooting, the fifth time GCU has held an opponent to 35% shooting or less this season. Graham passed the 1,000-point career mark by scoring 24 points, but the Lopes held All-WAC honorable mention Sara Bershers to 2-of-10 shooting.

"You can't applaud these kids enough for just the energy they gave tonight and it was relentless and it obviously paid off," Miller said. "I hope that's positive reinforcement. They see what that type of energy and effort can do."