Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at TBA
W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, December 20
Lynchburg, Va.
12 p.m. MST
Grand Canyon
8-3,2-0WAC
52
at
65
Liberty
4-9,0-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
11
8
15
18
52
Liberty
21
11
14
19
65
Photo by: Stephen Blue / Sideline Media
Winning streak ends at Liberty
12/20/2023 2:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lopes fall to Flames for 1st loss in 7 games
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Grand Canyon women's basketball team's six-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 65-52 loss at Liberty to end a string of four road games.
GCU (8-30 has two nonconference games remaining before WAC play resumes in the new year.
Junior guard Naudia Evans led the Lopes with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. GCU graduate forward Shay Fano added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds while classmate Sydney Erikstrup had eight points and two boards, all coming in the fourth quarter.
GCU got off to a slow start offensively, going 4 of 12 from the field in the first quarter while Liberty shot 50%. Twelve of the Flames' 21 first-quarter points came beyond the arc to put the Lopes in a 21-11 hole after 10 minutes.
Back-to-back driving layups from Evans and junior guard Trinity San Antonio cut the lead to six early in the second quarter, but a scoring drought ensued. The Lopes went more than five minutes without a basket and trailed 32-19 at the break.
GCU's defense held the Flames to five points for half of the third quarter, and a Fano 3-pointer and jumper provided a spark to the offense that had gone 1 of 8 from deep in the first half. The teams traded baskets over the third quarter's final five minutes and the Lopes trailed 46-34 after three.
GCU found another added boost in Erikstrup, who knocked down a 3 and converted an and-one layup early in the fourth quarter in back-to-back trips on the offensive end. But the Flames countered each time the Lopes would score and kept their double-digit lead midway through the quarter.
An Evans 3 with 2:14 remaining cut the lead to seven points, but Liberty ended the contest on a 6-0 run to move to 3-2 at home and 4-9 overall.
The Lopes, who entered the game second in the WAC for free throw percentage, shot under 60% from the line for the first time this season. Its 33% shooting from the floor was the lowest since a home loss to Oregon on Nov. 16.
GCU takes a week off before returning to action at Global Credit Union Arena next Wednesday vs. Arizona Christian.
GCU (8-30 has two nonconference games remaining before WAC play resumes in the new year.
Junior guard Naudia Evans led the Lopes with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. GCU graduate forward Shay Fano added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds while classmate Sydney Erikstrup had eight points and two boards, all coming in the fourth quarter.
GCU got off to a slow start offensively, going 4 of 12 from the field in the first quarter while Liberty shot 50%. Twelve of the Flames' 21 first-quarter points came beyond the arc to put the Lopes in a 21-11 hole after 10 minutes.
Back-to-back driving layups from Evans and junior guard Trinity San Antonio cut the lead to six early in the second quarter, but a scoring drought ensued. The Lopes went more than five minutes without a basket and trailed 32-19 at the break.
GCU's defense held the Flames to five points for half of the third quarter, and a Fano 3-pointer and jumper provided a spark to the offense that had gone 1 of 8 from deep in the first half. The teams traded baskets over the third quarter's final five minutes and the Lopes trailed 46-34 after three.
GCU found another added boost in Erikstrup, who knocked down a 3 and converted an and-one layup early in the fourth quarter in back-to-back trips on the offensive end. But the Flames countered each time the Lopes would score and kept their double-digit lead midway through the quarter.
An Evans 3 with 2:14 remaining cut the lead to seven points, but Liberty ended the contest on a 6-0 run to move to 3-2 at home and 4-9 overall.
The Lopes, who entered the game second in the WAC for free throw percentage, shot under 60% from the line for the first time this season. Its 33% shooting from the floor was the lowest since a home loss to Oregon on Nov. 16.
GCU takes a week off before returning to action at Global Credit Union Arena next Wednesday vs. Arizona Christian.
Team Stats
GCU
Lib
FG%
.333
.462
3FG%
.286
.615
FT%
.588
.600
RB
33
37
TO
17
15
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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