Lopes, Bearkats set for 1st-ever matchup

Saturday, January 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Sam Houston

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Photo by: Skyler Coblentz

1/21/2022 12:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GCU welcomes new WAC foe Sam Houston to Phoenix

By: Sierra Smith

Saturday, Jan. 22 \| 2 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	SAM HOUSTON BEARKATS (5-11, 0-5 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (11-5, 4-1 WAC)

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The Grand Canyon women's basketball team is coming off two Texas wins over Abilene Christian and Tarleton and will be joined at GCU Arena on Saturday afternoon with another Texas opponent, Sam Houston. This will be the first meeting in program history between the Lopes and Bearkats.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

TOP-25 UPDATE: The Lopes lead the nation in steals per game with 14.4. GCU ranks second nationally in steals (230) and fifth in turnovers forced per game (24.38). GCU also has the 10th-best turnover margin (plus-7.31).
FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT: GCU freshmen Naudia Evans, Ja'Mya Powell-Smith and Kiyley Flowers have become key players for the Lopes. Evans and Powell-Smith earned starting spots and each member of the trio is averaging 19 to 25 minutes per game in conference play.
THIRD IN THE STANDINGS: The Lopes sit in third place in the WAC standings, only behind California Baptist and Stephen F. Austin, who are 5-0. GCU is set to play Stephen F. Austin on Monday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. and will play at California Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 5.

SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON

The Bearkats have four players averaging double figures, including Faith Cook (14.4), Courtney Cleveland (12.3), Madelyn Batista (11.2) and Damaya Telemaque (11.2).
Batista leads Sam Houston with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Nationally, the Bearkats rank 21st in offensive rebounds per game (15.4) and 31st for turnovers forced (20.56).
Sam Houston, on a five-game losing streak, is searching for its first conference win in its first WAC season.
The Bearkats' last victory was a record-breaking win over Arlington Baptist, defeating the Patriots 132-55. The previous scoring record was 128 points against UT Pan American in the 1987-88 season.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU vs. Abilene Christian

The Lopes kicked off their Texas road trip with a gritty win at Abilene Christian on Thursday night. The ending looked similar to GCU's Saturday win over Lamar with a Lope making a clutch 3-pointer for the lead with seconds to go.
This time, the go-ahead 3-pointer was off the fingertips of graduate guard Amara Graham, who tallied 23 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Lopes knocked down 10 shots from 3-point range and held the fourth-ranked 3-point shooting team in the country to eight 3s. Graham hit five treys for the Lopes.
Joining Graham in double figures was junior forward Dominique Phillips, who posted 19 points off the bench with three 3-pointers. Freshman point guard Ja'mya Powell-Smith added eight points, six assists and three steals.
GCU tied its season high with six blocks, which was led by junior guard Taylor Caldwell getting three rejections.
The Lopes dished out 17 assists, their highest total since Dec. 1 when GCU had 24 assists against Park (Ariz.).

GCU vs. Tarleton

GCU earned its second consecutive road win Saturday, rallying impressively to complete a Texas trip sweep by defeating Tarleton 47-37.
The Lopes scoring was led by graduate guard Amara Graham, sophomore Tiarra Brown and freshman Naudia Evans with eight points apiece.
Led by graduate forward Jay McChristine's seven offensive rebounds, the Lopes were all over the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in nine second-chance points.
GCU forced 33 Tarleton turnovers and turned those takeaways into 19 points on the offensive end of the floor to come back from an early 15-point deficit with a 43-18 finish to the game. Brown and freshman point guard Kiyley Flowers led the defense with three steals each.