GCU prevails in back-and-forth battle

Saturday, November 12

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-0,0-0WAC

Grambling State

0-3,0-0SWAC

Grambling

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Garrett Ohrenberg

11/12/2022 10:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

3 Lopes score in double figures, led by Brown with 14 points, 8 rebounds

By: Nick Macdonald

Defensive pressure and forced turnovers have been the staple under Grand Canyon head coach Molly Miller since she took the helm in 2020. The Lopes pressured Grambling State into five turnovers, including four steals, in the final 3:30 of Saturday night's game to prevail 63-56 in a back-and-forth battle at GCU Arena.

"Going into halftime, we made some adjustments from the first half and, at the end, we were making defensive plays and stops," Miller said. "Hats off to our team for sticking with it and having perseverance to pull out the victory."

It was a come-from-behind effort for the Lopes, who move to 2-0. GCU trailed 24-19 after the first quarter and 37-31 at halftime before outscoring Grambling State 18-11 in a third quarter to lead by one and 14-8 in the fourth.

Both teams shot well out of the gates, with GCU going 9 of 17 (53%) from the field as it found success down low through Evan Zars. The graduate forward had eight points and two rebounds through 10 minutes but ran into foul trouble, sitting for the entire second quarter as the Tigers totaled 12 free throws in the first quarter to lead by five.

The Tigers went 6 of 12 from the floor in second quarter and countered every make the Lopes converted. The Lopes, who turned the ball over 13 times in their home opener vs. Arizona Christian, had 11 at the break and trailed by six at the half.

GCU turned it up in the third quarter with 18 points, six of which came from sophomore guard Naudia Evans and four from sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins, who drove coast to coast to put GCU up 49-48 with two seconds to spare for its first lead of the night.

The Lopes defense stepped up in the fourth, holding the Tigers to a game-low eight points, including none in the final 3:58. After trailing 56-54 with four minutes to play, Evans hit a crucial 3-pointer off a pass from Collins to regain the lead. Junior guard Tiarra Brown had a steal and score, and Collins again dished out a fastbreak assist, this time to Brown, as the Lopes pulled away late.

Evans and Brown each scored 14 points, with Brown pulling down eight rebounds and tallying four steals. Zars finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while freshman forward Alaina Harper had eight points and seven rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.

The Lopes head on the road for the first time next weekend when they travel to Thibodaux, Louisiana, to take on Nicholls State on Friday at 5 p.m. (Phoenix time).