Lopes take on 1st road test at North Dakota on Saturday

Saturday, November 11

Grand Forks, N.D.

6 p.m. MST

Grand Canyon

North Dakota

11/9/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Saturday marks GCU's earliest road contest by date in Division 1 era

By: Nick Macdonald

Saturday, Nov. 11 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Betty Engelstad Sioux Center \| Grand Forks, N.D.

	NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS 0-1	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES 1-0

WATCH: MIDCO SPORTS PLUS ($) \| STATS: LINK \| LISTEN: LINK \| GAME NOTES: LINK

The Lopes head on the road for their first road game of the season and only road game in the month of November. The game for the Fighting Hawks is their first in Grand Forks this season.
The matchup is the second in as many years for the two teams, with GCU winning 73-60 in Phoenix on Nov. 25, 2022.
By date, the Nov. 11 game is the earliest road contest of the season in the Lopes' Division 1 era (since 2013-14).
Head coach Molly Miller is 2-1 against Summit League teams since the 2020-21 season.

Down 52-33 with 7:32 left in regulation, GCU orchestrated an incredible 22-0 run over the final minutes of play and defeated Saint Mary's 55-52 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Naudia Evans.
The Lopes outscored the Gaels 24-5 in the fourth quarter and shot 52.6% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range in the final 10 minutes. GCU's total point production heading into the fourth quarter was 31 points.
Evans had a team-best 15 points, all of which were made beyond the 3-point line. Lopes guard Trinity San Antonio had was on triple-double alert, recording 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. GCU's defense ramped up its pressure in the fourth quarter, forcing six of the Gaels' 20 turnovers during the 22-0 run.
The buzzer-beating 3-pointer was a highlight of college basketball's opening night, drawing ESPN replays with anchors Scott Van Pelt and John Anderson and earning No. 10 in Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the Night. ESPNW, CBS College Basketball and March Madness WBB were among several outlets that also shared the video via social media.

GCU opened the season with one of the most memorable victories in program history on Nov. 6 vs. Saint Mary's. The Lopes scored 22 straight points to wipe away a 52-33 deficit in the final 7:16 of the contest and won on a buzzer beater 3-pointer by junior guard Naudia Evans.
Through the first game, Lopes junior guard Trinity San Antonio ranks in the nation's top 10 for assists and assists per game (8.0). The eight assists against Saint Mary's were the most for a Lope since Nov. 26, 2022, vs. Lindenwood.
Head coach Molly Miller enters her fourth season in Phoenix and 10th overall, owning a 62-27 record as the Lopes head coach and 242-44 overall mark.
Miller ranks fourth among active coaches in winning percentage (.846) with 10-plus seasons of coaching. She trails only Kim Caldwell (Marshall), Geno Auriemma (UConn) and Kim Mulkey (LSU).
GCU was tabbed first in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, tallying six first-place votes. In addition, San Antonio and Brown were named to the Preseason All-WAC Team. The Lopes are the only team with multiple players on the conference's preseason team.
The Lopes are 38-8 at GCU Arena since Molly Miller took the helm in 2020. GCU has won at least 12 games at home in each of her three seasons in Phoenix, including a season-high 13 last year. The Lopes have 17 games at home this season, including six of the first seven regular season contests.

North Dakota enters Saturday's game 0-1 after falling 77-60 at Wyoming in its season opener.
The Fighting Hawks are coming off their best Summit League season in 2022-23, winning 11 conference games and advancing to the WBI Consolation Championship round.
Fifth-year guard Kacie Borowicz is coming off a 29-point performance against Wyoming on Nov. 6. She averaged 21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season and was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award preseason watch list.
North Dakota went 13-1 at home last season and has won 21 games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center since the 2021-22 season.
GCU senior forward Olivia Lane returns to Grand Forks two years after spending her first three seasons at North Dakota. Lane appeared in 66 games for the Fighting Hawks, making 35 starts while averaging 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds with a 50.6% field goal percentage. Lane missed last season's meeting due to injury.

GCU won its last meeting against the Fighting Hawks, 73-60, on Nov. 25, 2022. It was the first win for the Lopes in ther series' history.
Lopes forward Tiarra Brown had seven points and three assists while guard Sydney Palma had four points and four rebounds with three steals. Borowicz, who came into that game averaging just over 20 points per contest, was held to 12 points and four rebounds.

The Lopes return home for a stretch of five straight games at home, beginning with (RV) Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m.
The matchup against the Ducks will be the first in program history.
It is the first of two Pac-12 games this season, as GCU travels east to Tempe to face Arizona State on Dec. 8.