Lopes open WAC play at Utah Valley

Thursday, Dec. 29 \| 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| UCCU Center \| Orem, Utah

	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (3-8, 0-0 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (8-3, 0-0 WAC)

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GCU opens conference play in Orem, Utah, against Utah Valley on Thursday afternoon.
The Lopes look to break a two-game losing streak. GCU head coach Molly Miller is 1-1 in WAC openers.
It is the second straight road contest for GCU, which is 2-1 on the season away from Phoenix. It defeated Nicholls in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and Montana in Missoula before falling at UC Irvine on Dec. 21.

The Lopes enter conference play with one of the toughest defenses in the nation, ranking first in steals per game (15.6), fifth in turnovers forced per game (25.0) and fifth in turnover margin (plus 9.3 per game).
Junior forward Olivia Lane has scored in double digits in three of her four games since coming back from a knee injury. She is averaging 10.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 75% from the free throw line. In two road contests, Lane averaged 15.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
Graduate forward Evan Zars is nearing a milestone mark of 1,000 career rebounds. She has 976 for her career and leads the squad with 7.5 boards per game, including 31 of the 83 rebounds coming on offense. Zars gathered five or more rebounds in 10 of 11 games this season with six games of nine or more.
Sophomore guard Naudia Evans owns the best assist/turnover ratio in the WAC (2.62 to 1). She leads the team with 3.1 assists per game and has dished out four or more assists six times this season. Averaging 25.5 minutes per game, Evans only has one game with two or more turnovers with a 34/13 season ratio.
Head coach Molly Miller ranks second in the nation in winning percentage (.860), tallying a 228-37 record in six seasons at Drury and four at GCU. She trails only UConn head coach Geno Auriemma (.884) among active head coaches who competed in three or more seasons.

In four games this season, junior forward Olivia Lane has scored in double digits three times, including a 19-point performance at Montana in her season debut on Dec. 8.
The Merrifield, Minnesota, native leads the team in points per game (10.5) and has 11 rebounds and four steals this season.
Lane, who missed the first seven games to rehabilitate a knee injury, is shooting 44.8% (13 of 29) from the floor and 75% (15 of 20) on free throws this season.

Sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins enters conference play as the WAC leader in steals (33) and steals per game (3.0). The marks rank 25th and 18th, respectively, in the country.
Collins has recorded three or more steals seven times this season with two games of five or more. She has tallied a steal in 10 of 11 games and has 14 in her last five games played.
A transfer from former WAC member Chicago State, Collins totaled 65 steals last season with the Cougars and 34 in conference play.
GCU leads the nation in steals per game with 15.6. It has registered 10-plus steals in 10 of 11 games with three games of 20 or more.

Utah Valley enters conference play with a record of 3-8 and a 3-2 home mark.
The Wolverines have won two of their last three games, including a 59-57 victory over Idaho on Dec. 21. GCU fell 81-78 to the Vandals in overtime Dec. 18.
Jaeden Brown leads the offense for Utah Valley, averaging 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Brown has 22 blocks on the season, ranking 18th in the country in blocks per game (2.2) and 23rd in blocks, both of which are second in the conference.
Eleyana Tafisi is third in the WAC with 28 steals. She has dished out a team-best 45 assists and is averaging 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.

These teams met last in March in the second-to-last game of GCU's regular season.
The Lopes prevailed 65-63 in Orem with returnee Tiarra Brown tallying 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
The past three meetings between the two schools have resulted in a single-digit margin, including a 57-54 Lopes victory in the 2021 WAC Tournament semifinals.

GCU returns home for its first conference home game of the season on Saturday, Dec. 31, against California Baptist.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Grand Canyon University Athletics