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W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, December 29
Orem, Utah
2 p.m.
Grand Canyon
8-4,0-1WAC
63
at
65
Utah Valley
4-8,1-0WAC
1
2
3
4
OT 1
OT 2
F
Grand Canyon
11
16
15
6
8
7
63
Utah Valley
14
10
15
9
8
9
65
Lopes drop WAC opener in double overtime
12/29/2022 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GCU's 65-63 loss at UVU includes 11 lead changes, 11 ties
OREM, Utah – The Grand Canyon women's basketball team fell in double overtime in a back-and-forth, double-overtime affair Thursday at Utah Valley in its WAC opener, falling 65-63 in a game with 11 lead changes and 11 ties.
It was the first double-overtime game for GCU since a triple-overtime win on Jan. 5, 2019, at Seattle U. It was the Lopes' second overtime game in the past three contests.
The Wolverines (4-8, 1-0 WAC) downed the Lopes (8-4, 0-1 WAC) for their third win in their past four games.
Junior forward Tiarra Brown led the Lopes with 16 points while adding seven rebounds. Graduate forward Evan Zars and sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins scored in double figures, with Zars totaling 14 points with nine rebounds and Collins having 12 points, six assists and three steals. Junior guard Sydney Palma added seven points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Both teams struggled from 3-point range, with GCU shooting 3 of 22 from deep while also only making 6 of 13 free throws. The Lopes trailed 14-11 after the first quarter before outscoring the Wolverines 16-10 in the second quarter with an 8-2 half-ending run to lead 27-24 at the break.
The Lopes went up five early in the third, but the Wolverines rallied with five straight points to tie it at 29-29, one of 11 ties in the game. GCU led by as much as four points on three occasions in the third quarter and led 42-39 at the conclusion of the quarter.
GCU struggled to find the basket in the fourth, scoring six points. Its defense held Utah Valley to nine points and had a game-saving blocked shot by junior forward Olivia Lane in the final seconds to force overtime at 48-48.
The Lopes took a 52-48 lead courtesy of back-to-back layups from Brown. Utah Valley again rallied with six straight points for a 54-52 lead. GCU trailed by two points with seven seconds remaining but sent the game to a second overtime at 56-56 on a Collins layup.
GCU never led in the second overtime but cut the Utah Valley lead to 65-63 after a pair of Lane free throws. On the ensuing inbound, the Wolverines turned the ball over with three seconds left at half court. Lane found Palma in the left corner, where her final final shot missed and freshman forward Emma Krueger's follow was a second after the final buzzer.
This is only the second time in head coach Molly Miller's three-year GCU tenure that the Lopes have dropped three straight games.
GCU will look to rebound Saturday when it hosts California Baptist for its first conference home game at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
It was the first double-overtime game for GCU since a triple-overtime win on Jan. 5, 2019, at Seattle U. It was the Lopes' second overtime game in the past three contests.
The Wolverines (4-8, 1-0 WAC) downed the Lopes (8-4, 0-1 WAC) for their third win in their past four games.
Junior forward Tiarra Brown led the Lopes with 16 points while adding seven rebounds. Graduate forward Evan Zars and sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins scored in double figures, with Zars totaling 14 points with nine rebounds and Collins having 12 points, six assists and three steals. Junior guard Sydney Palma added seven points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Both teams struggled from 3-point range, with GCU shooting 3 of 22 from deep while also only making 6 of 13 free throws. The Lopes trailed 14-11 after the first quarter before outscoring the Wolverines 16-10 in the second quarter with an 8-2 half-ending run to lead 27-24 at the break.
The Lopes went up five early in the third, but the Wolverines rallied with five straight points to tie it at 29-29, one of 11 ties in the game. GCU led by as much as four points on three occasions in the third quarter and led 42-39 at the conclusion of the quarter.
GCU struggled to find the basket in the fourth, scoring six points. Its defense held Utah Valley to nine points and had a game-saving blocked shot by junior forward Olivia Lane in the final seconds to force overtime at 48-48.
The Lopes took a 52-48 lead courtesy of back-to-back layups from Brown. Utah Valley again rallied with six straight points for a 54-52 lead. GCU trailed by two points with seven seconds remaining but sent the game to a second overtime at 56-56 on a Collins layup.
GCU never led in the second overtime but cut the Utah Valley lead to 65-63 after a pair of Lane free throws. On the ensuing inbound, the Wolverines turned the ball over with three seconds left at half court. Lane found Palma in the left corner, where her final final shot missed and freshman forward Emma Krueger's follow was a second after the final buzzer.
This is only the second time in head coach Molly Miller's three-year GCU tenure that the Lopes have dropped three straight games.
GCU will look to rebound Saturday when it hosts California Baptist for its first conference home game at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
GCU
UVU
FG%
.365
.386
3FG%
.136
.118
FT%
.462
.792
RB
45
41
TO
26
31
STL
14
17
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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