GCU heads to Abilene, Stephenville

Thursday, January 13

Abilene, Texas

5 p.m. (Phoenix Time)

Grand Canyon

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

1/12/2022 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lopes face Abilene Christian, Tarleton in road WAC games

By: Sierra Smith

Thursday/Saturday, Jan. 13/15 \| Abilene and Stephenville, Texas

	ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (11-4, 3-1 WAC) TARLETON TEXANS (9-5, 1-2 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (9-5, 2-1 WAC)

GCU vs. Abilene Christian \| Thursday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| WATCH: Livestream \| STATS: View GCU vs. Tarleton \| Saturday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| WATCH: Livestream \| STATS: View

The Grand Canyon women's basketball team heads to Texas for a two-game conference trip, starting at Abilene Christian on Thursday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time) and then Tarleton on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time).

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

OT WINNER SETS TONE FOR TEXAS TRIP: GCU is coming off an exciting 73-72 overtime win over Lamar. Graduate guard Chloe Akin-Otiko's first made field goal in a month was the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting GCU to the conference victory for a 2-1 WAC record.
WAC STATS: The Lopes sit at fifth in the WAC standings with a 2-1 record. GCU leads the WAC in steals per game (14.4) and ranks second in turnover margin (plus-7.43) and turnovers forced per game (24). Individually, graduate guard Amara Graham ranks second in the conference in 3-point field goals made (72) and third for 3-pointers made per game (2.21) and 3-point percentage (39.2%).
TOP-10 DEFENSE: GCU ranks top 10 in multiple defensive stat categories nationally, including No. 1 for steals per game (14.4), No. 1 for total steals (201), No. 6 for turnovers forced per game (24) and No. 8 for turnover margin (plus-7.43).

SCOUTING

Abilene Christian

The Wildcats (11-4, 3-1 WAC) are coming off their first conference loss to Stephen F. Austin.
Abilene Christian ranks No. 4 nationally for 3-point field goals made (159) and 3-point field goals per game (10.6), which also leads the WAC.
With 49.2% 3-point shooting, Kamryn Mraz ranks No. 1 in the nation.
The Wildcats have two players averaging double-figure scoring with Jamie Bonnarens leading the way with 14.6 points per game and Tatum Barber averaging 10.1 points per game.
Bonnarens also leads the Wildcats with 6.3 rebounds per game.
The last matchup between the Lopes and Wildcats was on Dec. 4, 2015, when the Lopes fell 75-71.

Tarleton

The Texans (9-5, 1-2 WAC) is also coming off a loss to Stephen F. Austin. Tarleton defeated Utah Valley for its lone conference win.
Tarleton's scoring is led by Iyana Dorsey, who is averaging 10.4 points per game.
On the boards, Malaya Kendrick and Synabou Thiam each average over six rebounds a game.
Tarleton is sitting at eighth in the WAC standings with a 1-2 conference record.
Last season, GCU played Tarleton for the first time and defeated the Texans at home on back-to-back nights.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU vs. UT Rio Grande Valley

The Lopes suffered their first home loss of the season Thursday night after falling 62-50 to UT Rio Grande Valley.
GCU had two players score in double figures, led by sophomore guard Tiarra Brown with 15 points, two steals and three blocks. Freshman point guard Ja'mya Powell-Smith posted 11 points and two steals off the bench while graduate guard Amara Graham added seven points and a game-high three steals for GCU.
The Vaqueros shot 41.4% while the Lopes were kept to 24.5% shooting from the field. UTRGV also outrebounded GCU 48-30.
The Lopes had their lowest-scoring quarter in the third, when they had nine and trailed by as much as 18. Powell-Smith made both of GCU's third-quarter field goals, along with two free throws to score six of the nine points.
GCU outscored UTRGV 14-8 in the fourth quarter with a strong showing by Brown's nine points, but it was not enough to rally.

GCU vs. Lamar

Graduate guard Chloe Akin-Otiko's first made field goal in a month was a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime to lift GCU to a 73-72 conference victory over Lamar.
The Lopes (9-5, 2-1 WAC) beat the nation's top-ranked 3-point defense with a 3-pointer.
GCU was limited to nine players Thursday because of health and safety protocols and two starters fouled out. Akin-Otiko looked like a former Kansas track star when she sprinted upcourt and past Lamar's defense, just as sophomore Tiarra Brown dribbled the length of the court and sucked all five Cardinals defenders in the paint before passing to Akin-Otiko.
Until Akin-Otiko's game-winning 3, GCU had not led since the first three minutes of the second half. Lamar took a 68-62 lead in overtime before Brown made a 3-pointer and a reverse layup. Lopes junior forward Dominique Phillips' 3-point play followed to cut the Cardinals lead to 71-70 with 11.9 seconds to play.
Freshman Naudia Evans led or shared the GCU lead for rebounds (eight), assists (six) and steals (three) while scoring 12 with Ja'Mya Powell-Smith, a freshman in her first start, adding another 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Graduate guard Amara Graham had a game-high 19 points and Brown scored 17 points.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes are back at home next week to host Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m., and then Sam Houston State on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m.