4th-quarter Lopes run comes up short

Saturday, February 26

Huntsville, Texas

2 p.m. MT

Grand Canyon

19-8,12-4WAC

Sam Houston

14-14,9-8WAC

Grand Canyon

Sam Houston

Photo by: Nick Garcia

2/26/2022 10:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GCU falls to Sam Houston 69-66 in Huntsville

By: Sierra Smith

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The Grand Canyon women's basketball team fought back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game with 45 seconds left to play, but its effort came up just short and the Lopes fell 69-66 at Bernard Johnson Coliseum.

GCU's scoring was led by junior forward Dominique Phillips, who had 15 of the 44 bench points by the Lopes. Phillips was 3 for 4 from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Tianna Brown tacked on 12 points, two steals and two rebounds for GCU and freshman guard Naudia Evans put up 11 points off the bench.

The Lopes forced 23 Sam Houston turnovers and turned those takeaways into 27 points. Brown and senior forward Kennedi Shorts had two steals apiece to lead the way.

After falling behind 11-6, GCU went on a 9-0 run with 5:31 left in the first quarter to take a 15-11 lead. The Lopes and Bearkats went back and forth the rest of the period, but GCU finished the quarter down 21-19.

Sam Houston outscored the Lopes 25-16 in the second quarter to go into the halftime break ahead 46-35.

Both GCU and Sam Houston put up 14 points in the third quarter, keeping the deficit the same entering the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer from graduate guard Ny'Dajah Jackson at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Lopes some momentum heading into the final quarter.

Down 60-49 with 10 minutes to go, the Lopes did not back down. GCU inched its way closer and eventually tied the game when graduate guard Amara Graham hit a jumper at the free throw line to bring the score to 66-66. At the 17-second mark, Sam Houston's Kaylee Jefferson hit a 3-pointer to pull ahead 69-66.

The Lopes were unable to get an equalizer with 69-66 remaining the final, although the Lopes outscored the Bearkats 17-9 in the fourth quarter.

Up next, the Lopes head to Utah for the last two games of the regular season. GCU takes on Utah Valley on Thursday at 6 p.m., then Dixie State on Saturday at 3 p.m.