Ideal start fades against WAC leaders

Monday, January 31

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

13-6,6-2WAC

Stephen F. Austin

17-3,8-0WAC

SFA

Grand Canyon

1/31/2022 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU led for 2 1/2 quarters, forced SFA into 14 consecutive missed shots

By: Paul Coro

In a collision of defensive styles, Grand Canyon was a smashing success for more than a half against WAC leader Stephen F. Austin.

The Lopes held a lead for the first 24 minutes, forced the Ladyjacks to miss 14 consecutive shots over the middle of the game, defended Stephen F. Austin to its season low for shooting (34.1%) shooting and season high for turnovers (24). But GCU could not keep that winning potion bottled up, spilling the lead and allowing the Ladyjacks to maintain a perfect WAC record with a 61-43 victory at GCU Arena.

The Lopes, the national steals leader, gave the national turnover margin leader from Stephen F. Austin a taste of its own medicine. GCU (13-6, 6-2 WAC) flipped a steal by sophomore guard Tiarra Brown and a steal and a blocked shot from freshman guard Kiyley Flowers into fastbreak points to build a 20-15 first-quarter lead.

Junior forward Dominique Phillips scored or assisted on seven of the Lopes' 10 second-quarter points, as GCU's pressure continued to rattle Stephen F. Austin (17-3, 8-0 WAC) into a 2-for-12 shooting quarter and a 12-turnover first half.

JaMya Powell-Smith

"We were really scrappy on defense," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "I think we took them out of rhythm. If we could see that team consistently, that's who you have to go through to win the WAC. If we can play like that consistently, we've got a chance to be on top. The good news is, when you see a first half like that against a good team, there's a lot of belief that this team can be great."

The GCU lead disintegrated with a second half of 2-for-23 shooting and 11 turnovers, but the opportunity to hold the lead lingered because the Lopes continued to lock down the Ladyjacks. With an 0-for-4 start that included three turnovers, Stephen F. Austin was shooting 24% from the field for the first 24 minutes of Monday night's game.

From there, the Ladyjacks went 8 for 15 from the field to pull away and ended the game by making 11 consecutive free throws.

"We have to play hard all game no matter what changes happen throughout the game and do what we do on the regular," said Brown, who tallied seven points, nine rebounds and three steals. "We know we had them. We were hyped. And then we came out and scored two points in the third and our momentum and energy went down."

Stephen F. Austin, which reached the NCAA tournament last season and fell to fifth-seeded Georgia Tech in overtime, scored 12 unanswered points to take a 44-32 lead on a 3-pointer that opened the fourth quarter. GCU had its fourth-best offensive rebounding game of the season with 16, but only scored six second-chance points with none in the second half.

The game marked Lopes season lows for field goal percentage (24.1%) and 3-point shooting percentage (11.1%).

Jay McChristine

"I don't think you can orchestrate anything," Miller said. "You've just got to put the ball in the hole at that point. You can't go 14 for 58 and only score two points in the third quarter. You're not going to win games like that. You're not going to win games scoring 43 points. You can win games holding the other team to 61 points."

GCU made one last surge defensively by forcing four consecutive fourth-quarter turnovers, part of the Ladyjacks' season-high 24 turnovers. But after Stephen F. Austin's quarter-opening 3, the Lopes could not reduce the lead to double digits by making one shot for a second consecutive quarter.

That made GCU's 13-6 start and 2 1/2 quarters of dominant defense a distant memory.

"When you get tired in these scenarios, you've got to dig deep for that extra gear," Miller said. "There were a couple plays where we didn't have the energy to assert ourselves on the offensive end or defensive end.

"That's the top team in the conference. If you want to accomplish our goals, the first half is what it needs to look like every day, every game, every practice. It was a good measuring stick for us. But it was also a positive confidence booster."