Rubber match vs. UVU decides title game spot

Friday, March 12 \| WAC Tournament \| 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Orleans Arena

	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (13-5, 10-4 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (17-6, 8-4 WAC)

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LAS VEGAS – The Grand Canyon women's basketball team knows what went well and what did not against Utah Valley for a regular-season split.

But as the Lopes and Wolverines vie for a WAC Tournament championship game spot in Friday's semifinal, GCU has ongoing improvement, new system nuances and a venue change from Utah Valley's home court on its side. The Lopes and Wolverines meet at 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) in Orleans Arena with a championship game spot on the line.

"That's one that we want back – that series," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "They're a really good team. It's like one through five (point guard through center) is very, very capable, whoever is on the floor. Our defense is going to have to be extremely good and clicking on all cylinders. They're a good defensive team too. It's going to be hard to get good looks so our offense is going to have to be free-flowing."

When Utah Valley won on Feb. 12, it overcame 21 turnovers by doubling GCU on the boards, 42-21, and scoring mostly in the paint for 48% shooting while the Lopes guards went cold.

When GCU won a day later, the starting Lopes backcourt of junior Laura Piera and sophomore Taylor Caldwell thrived with 12 assists and only three turnovers while Piera, freshman Tiarra Brown, senior Ny'Dajah Jackson and Katie Scott all scored in double figures. Lopes power forward Kennedi Shorts helped correct the rebounding issue, grabbing nine boards in 14 minutes off the bench.

"You create your own luck by the intensity that you play with, the effort that you play with," Miller said. "When we're playing our hardest and we're playing our hearts out, we're a really tough team."

GCU (17-6) will have to handle two All-WAC first-team selections for Utah Valley (13-5). Junior guard Maria Carvalho, also an All-WAC Defensive Team pick, averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds with 50% shooting in the season split with the Lopes.

The play of Josie Williams, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, was more telling. She posted a 14-point, 12-rebound game in the Wolverines' win but was limited to four points and four rebounds in the loss. She averaged 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds this season.

"It's just all about preparation," said Brown, who posted 16 points and eight rebounds in GCU's first-round win against UT Rio Grande Valley. "I feel like we've been doing good and well on focusing and dialing in on what our task is for our next game and for whoever we have next. I feel like we're going to do good on what we have coming up."

Like every opponent, Utah Valley had difficulty navigating GCU's pressure defense and averaged 19.0 turnovers in the two games. The Lopes rank fifth nationally with 23.4 opponent turnovers per game. Piera (2.8 steals per game), Caldwell (2.5), Brown (1.9) and Jackson (1.7) account for four of the top six steal leaders in the WAC.

Utah Valley made 21 turnovers against an 0-14 Chicago State team in Wednesday's 61-43 first-round win, the Wolverines' sixth consecutive victory.

"We cannot do that, especially against Chicago – I mean, what the heck," said Carvalho, who scored 15 points in Wednesday's win. "We definitely cannot do that. We need to fix that, that and boxing out."

The GCU-UVU winner will advance to Saturday's championship game against the winner of Friday's California Baptist-New Mexico State semifinal.

"We haven't talked one bit about RGV or Grand Canyon with our kids this week," Utah Valley head coach Dan Nielson said after his team's first-round win and before GCU's win.

"We spend a lot of time scouting our opponents, both personnel and what they run. We really spend a lot of time preparing that way. I might be wrong but I think we give up the lowest points in the league or close to. It's just a big credit to my staff and how hard they work at it and our girls for buying into learning the game, understanding the game and improving their basketball IQ so we can take people out of the stuff they want to do."

Friday, March 12 | WAC Tournament | 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Orleans Arena

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Players Mentioned

Tiarra Brown

Taylor Caldwell

Ny'Dajah Jackson

Laura Piera

Katie Scott

Kennedi Shorts

Grand Canyon University Athletics