Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at 4 p.m. (MST)
W Basketball
4 p.m. (MST)
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Rally relived: Lopes talk 22-0 run, Evans' viral shot
11/7/2023 5:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Saint Mary's ended on 0-for-7, 5-turnover rut vs. GCU's pressure defense
Victory went viral for the Grand Canyon women's basketball team Monday night when an inconceivable comeback was capped with an incredible close.
GCU junior guard Naudia Evans' game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer made ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10, drew 55,000 views from the Lopes' X account and created a Tuesday morning buzz around her Waynesville High School campus in the Ozark valley of Missouri.
But as clutch as Evans was to hit the shot and as cool as junior guard Trinity San Antonio was to veer from the play's first option and assist the shot, the Lopes do not score 22 unanswered points in the final 7:16 and wipe out a 19-point hole without a long list of meaningful moments.
Even better, the season-opening instant classic came in front of a Havocs crowd that grew in-game and must have felt like incessant waves on top of a furious Lopes rally to the visiting Gaels.
"Our kids left it all out on the court," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "They were just gassed by the end of the game. They fed off that fandom. The Havocs' presence gave us a lot of energy. For women's basketball this early to have the crowd show up like that, it meant something to our kids."
Trailing 52-33, GCU began chipping away at the lead with a simple quick post score by graduate power forward Shay Fano with 7:16 remaining.
But Fano's role was much bigger. Fano, a starter previously at Utah Valley, came off the bench for three first-half minutes before an ankle injury to senior power forward Olivia Lane pressed Fano into nine fourth-quarter minutes. She delivered six of the Lopes' first nine fourth-quarter points.
"Some people put their head down and check out, but Shay was ready," Evans said. "Her and-one was huge, and moving the ball and stuff like that."
GCU's incessant pressure defense was shutting out Saint Mary's with San Antonio forcing a turnover pass and rotating to snatch a baseline pass. On the latter, San Antonio jetted by two defenders and hit Lopes senior sharpshooter Anna Ostlie, who trailed on the play for a 3 that cut the lead to 52-47 with 3:07 to go.
"I thought, 'We have them on the ropes,' " Evans said.
By then, three full arena sections of Havocs were all in on the rally, and the Gaels were reeling. The Saint Mary's stalling offense was resulting in shot-clock situations and turnovers, while the Lopes had solved its zone defense with a four-out, one-in look that they had not practiced.
"It was nice to see that they could take something board to court that was something new," Miller said. "To know what we have that offensive firepower is nice, and our defense is still going to wear teams down in the fourth quarter. The other team has to deal with the consequences of a high-intensity scheme."
GCU senior forward Tiarra Brown, playing with a bloody nose, swatted a 3-pointer and took a charge in the final minutes. Each play set up a score – an Evans' 3 that cut the Saint Mary's lead to 52-50 and a San Antonio drive with a Eurostep that tied the game at 52-52 with 37 seconds to go.
After an Evans strip and Ostlie defensive close-out led to the Gaels' potential go-ahead shot missing, the Lopes had 6.6 seconds to go the length of the floor.
In the ensuing time out, the GCU coaches constructed a play to get San Antonio into the paint, but they explained other options and Evans trailing her was one of them.
San Antonio, whose GCU debut included 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, dribbled to the left side of the arc and shielded two Gaels defenders while pitching back to Evans.
"I looked at the clock and thought, 'I have to shoot this, and I have to get a good shot,' " said Evans, who scored 15 points in the game. "I think they thought that I would chuck it, but I do work on those type of shots. It was natural. My body just took over from there."
Despite being tight on time, Evans calmly took an extra dribble and sidestep to square up for the game-winning 3-pointer.
Evans turned with her arms outstretched to the Lopes bench, where sophomore guard McKenna Simons already had her arms in the air as the shot went up and senior guard Callie Cooper rose to lean into a sprinter stance before the shot sank to set off a player mob in front of the Havocs.
The celebration still has not stopped.
"I'm getting a lot of love right now from everybody," Evans said.
GCU junior guard Naudia Evans' game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer made ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10, drew 55,000 views from the Lopes' X account and created a Tuesday morning buzz around her Waynesville High School campus in the Ozark valley of Missouri.But as clutch as Evans was to hit the shot and as cool as junior guard Trinity San Antonio was to veer from the play's first option and assist the shot, the Lopes do not score 22 unanswered points in the final 7:16 and wipe out a 19-point hole without a long list of meaningful moments.
Even better, the season-opening instant classic came in front of a Havocs crowd that grew in-game and must have felt like incessant waves on top of a furious Lopes rally to the visiting Gaels.
"Our kids left it all out on the court," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "They were just gassed by the end of the game. They fed off that fandom. The Havocs' presence gave us a lot of energy. For women's basketball this early to have the crowd show up like that, it meant something to our kids."
Trailing 52-33, GCU began chipping away at the lead with a simple quick post score by graduate power forward Shay Fano with 7:16 remaining.But Fano's role was much bigger. Fano, a starter previously at Utah Valley, came off the bench for three first-half minutes before an ankle injury to senior power forward Olivia Lane pressed Fano into nine fourth-quarter minutes. She delivered six of the Lopes' first nine fourth-quarter points.
"Some people put their head down and check out, but Shay was ready," Evans said. "Her and-one was huge, and moving the ball and stuff like that."
GCU's incessant pressure defense was shutting out Saint Mary's with San Antonio forcing a turnover pass and rotating to snatch a baseline pass. On the latter, San Antonio jetted by two defenders and hit Lopes senior sharpshooter Anna Ostlie, who trailed on the play for a 3 that cut the lead to 52-47 with 3:07 to go."I thought, 'We have them on the ropes,' " Evans said.
By then, three full arena sections of Havocs were all in on the rally, and the Gaels were reeling. The Saint Mary's stalling offense was resulting in shot-clock situations and turnovers, while the Lopes had solved its zone defense with a four-out, one-in look that they had not practiced.
"It was nice to see that they could take something board to court that was something new," Miller said. "To know what we have that offensive firepower is nice, and our defense is still going to wear teams down in the fourth quarter. The other team has to deal with the consequences of a high-intensity scheme."
GCU senior forward Tiarra Brown, playing with a bloody nose, swatted a 3-pointer and took a charge in the final minutes. Each play set up a score – an Evans' 3 that cut the Saint Mary's lead to 52-50 and a San Antonio drive with a Eurostep that tied the game at 52-52 with 37 seconds to go.
After an Evans strip and Ostlie defensive close-out led to the Gaels' potential go-ahead shot missing, the Lopes had 6.6 seconds to go the length of the floor.
In the ensuing time out, the GCU coaches constructed a play to get San Antonio into the paint, but they explained other options and Evans trailing her was one of them.San Antonio, whose GCU debut included 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, dribbled to the left side of the arc and shielded two Gaels defenders while pitching back to Evans.
"I looked at the clock and thought, 'I have to shoot this, and I have to get a good shot,' " said Evans, who scored 15 points in the game. "I think they thought that I would chuck it, but I do work on those type of shots. It was natural. My body just took over from there."
Despite being tight on time, Evans calmly took an extra dribble and sidestep to square up for the game-winning 3-pointer.
Evans turned with her arms outstretched to the Lopes bench, where sophomore guard McKenna Simons already had her arms in the air as the shot went up and senior guard Callie Cooper rose to lean into a sprinter stance before the shot sank to set off a player mob in front of the Havocs.
The celebration still has not stopped.
"I'm getting a lot of love right now from everybody," Evans said.
Opening night buzzer beater 😱😱😱 @GCU_WBB pic.twitter.com/Mqqb2bq0DU
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 7, 2023
.@NaudiaEvans34 AT THE BUZZER ‼️#NCAAWBB x 🎥 ESPN/@GCU_WBB pic.twitter.com/eQbgc5wcmh
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) November 7, 2023
Grand Canyon finishes on a 22-0 run and finishes with a Naudia Evans (@NaudiaEvans34) BUZZER BEATING 3 to beat Saint Mary's 55-52 on opening night pic.twitter.com/3jOE8tyoST
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) November 7, 2023
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