Lopes prep for final 2 regular-season home games


Grand Canyon Lopes (18-7, 10-4 WAC)	vs.	Utah Valley Wolverines (6-19, 3-11 WAC)	UT Arlington Mavericks (13-14, 7-8 WAC)
		Thursday, Feb. 23 6 p.m.	Saturday, Feb. 25 2 p.m.
Game Notes		Watch Live Stats	Watch Live Stats

Grand Canyon preps for its final two regular-season home games at GCU Arena, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest vs. Utah Valley on Thursday before facing UT Arlington at 2 p.m. Saturday. Thursday's game is celebrating Girls and Women in Sports Day and Senior Day.

5 NOTES ABOUT THE LOPES

GCU ranks fourth in the nation in steals per game (13.0), ninth in turnovers forced per game (21.3) and 38th in turnover margin (plus-4.04 per game). The Lopes have forced 15-plus turnovers in 20 of 25 games this season.
Junior forward Tiarra Brown extended her double-digit scoring streak to eight games with 16 points scored vs. Seattle U. Brown is averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in WAC play and has gathered five or more rebounds in each of her last four games.
Sophomore guard Naudia Evans leads the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.71 to 1) and is fifth in free throw percentage (79.3%). Evans' assist-to-turnover ratio is 72 to 42 and the Lopes are 4-2 in WAC games when she has four or more assists.
After holding Seattle U to 12.5% from 3-point range, GCU ranks first in the conference 3-point defense (27.6%). GCU has held nine of its 14 WAC opponents to less than 30% from 3-point range, including four games of less than 25%.
Head coach Molly Miller ranks third in the nation in winning percentage (.853), tallying a 238-41 record in six seasons at Drury and four at GCU. She trails only UConn head coach Geno Auriemma (.884) and LSU head coach Kim Mulkey (.860) among active head coaches who have competed in four seasons.

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE FROM COLLINS

Sophomore guard Aaliyah Collins ranks second in the WAC in steals (62) and steals per game (2.7). She ranks 41st and 23rd in the nation in those categories, respectively. UT Arlington's Starr Jacobs leads the WAC in both categories.
Collins has recorded three or more steals 14 times this season with four games of five or more. She has tallied a steal in 19 of 23 games played and has 29 against WAC competition.
The Chicago State transfer totaled 65 steals last season, including 34 in conference play.
GCU is fourth in the nation in steals per game (13.0). It has registered 10-plus steals in 18 of 25 games with eight games with 15 or more.

A TOUGH GO FROM 3 FOR OPPONENTS

The Lopes have stepped up its perimeter defense in WAC play and ranks first in the conference in 3-point percentage defense (27.6%).
In WAC play, opponents have combined to shoot 27.6% from deep (79 of 299) against GCU. The Lopes have held opponents to less than 30% from 3 in nine of 14 conference games this season. Sam Houston totaled the highest opponent 3-point percentage (45%) while WAC opponents who shoot 34% or higher against the Lopes are 2-5 on the season.

SCOUTING REPORTS

Utah Valley enters Thursday at 6-19 overall and 3-11 in the WAC. It is 2-3 in its last five games with its last win coming Feb. 9 vs. UT Arlington.
The Wolverines defeated GCU 65-63 in double overtime in Orem on Dec. 29 in both teams' conference openers. It was the first double-overtime game for the Lopes since Jan. 5, 2019, at Seattle U (triple overtime).
Utah Valley ranks sixth in the WAC in steals per game with 9.0. It has recorded double-digit steals in two of its past three games.
Shay Fano leads the Wolverines in points per game at 11.2. She's also averaging 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest.
Jaeden Brown was the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game but has not seen game action since Jan. 4.
The Wolverines have four players with 30 or more steals and are led by Eleyana Tafisi with 44.
UT Arlington enters Phoenix at 13-14 overall and 7-8 in conference play. It plays at New Mexico State on Thursday night before heading to GCU.
The Mavericks are one of the nation's leaders in free throw attempts per game, ranking fifth in the nation at 23.8 per contest. They are also ninth in free throws made per game at 16.2.
UT Arlington ranks 31st in the country and third in the WAC in steals per game (10.0). Starr Jacobs is the conference leader in steals at 87, also ranking seventh in the nation. Her 3.2 steals per game also rank 10th in the country and first in the conference.
Jacobs leads the squad in points per game (17.1), rebounds per game (8.1) and steals per game (3.2) and is second in assists per game (2.7). Jacobs is the conference leader in points per game and third in field goal percentage (48.3%). She has scored in double figures in every conference game this season while posting a 35-point effort vs. Sam Houston to earn WAC Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Jireh Washington leads the squad with 88 assists while posting averages of 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU concludes the regular season next week in Utah, with a Tuesday night game at Utah Tech and a Thursday night game at Southern Utah.
Following those games, the Lopes head to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament. First-round action begins Monday, Mar. 6, with the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye. GCU is in third place in the WAC Resume Seeding System.

5 NOTES ABOUT THE LOPES

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE FROM COLLINS

A TOUGH GO FROM 3 FOR OPPONENTS

SCOUTING REPORTS

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tiarra Brown

Aaliyah Collins

Naudia Evans

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Lopes prep for final 2 regular-season home games

5 NOTES ABOUT THE LOPES

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE FROM COLLINS

A TOUGH GO FROM 3 FOR OPPONENTS

SCOUTING REPORTS

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tiarra Brown

Aaliyah Collins

Naudia Evans

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