Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at TBA
W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, March 2
Cedar City, Utah
6:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon
20-9,12-6WAC
63
at
71
Southern Utah
20-9,16-2WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
14
15
20
14
63
Southern Utah
17
13
9
32
71
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Free throws fuel T-birds' comeback, Lopes' motivation
3/2/2023 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
Harper's 14 helped GCU lead by 10 entering 4th, when Southern Utah made 15 FTs
CEDAR CITY, Utah — A victory at WAC women's basketball regular-season champion Southern Utah would have sent Grand Canyon into the WAC Tournament on a roll.
Instead, losing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter placed more of a rock-sized chip on its shoulder after the Lopes lost 71-63 because of a 30-11 Thunderbirds advantage in free throw points and a critical late-game technical foul against GCU.
The loss does not change the postseason fate of the Lopes (20-9, 12-6 WAC), who receive a WAC Tournament first-round bye as the No. 3 seed and will play a Wednesday quarterfinal at 9 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Las Vegas' Orleans Arena against Monday's UT Arlington-Seattle U winner.
But when GCU made four 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the third quarter, the Lopes were on their way to a marquee victory with a 49-39 lead at Southern Utah, which went 12-1 at home this season.
Instead, the Thunderbirds (20-9, 16-2 WAC) used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 54-54 and was leading 60-58 when GCU head coach Molly Miller was assessed a technical foul while the Lopes had possession with 2:14 remaining. The free throws and change of possession sent Southern Utah to a 63-58 lead before GCU got the ball back.
The Lopes cut the margin to 63-60 on two free throws by freshman power forward Alaina Harper, who scored 14 points for her first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 11. The Thunderbirds went 6 for 6 on free throws to close out their win that clinched an outright conference championship. Southern Utah won both meetings narrowly, needing to rally from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Phoenix to prevail 63-60 on Jan. 25.
"I think that was a very winnable game for us, and some things did not go our way at the end," Miller said after Southern Utah broke its season high for made free throws by 10. "It makes us ready for the next one, and we will be ready for the next one."
Through three quarters, GCU was holding Southern Utah to 30.6% shooting with 21 turnovers. But the Thunderbirds outscored the Lopes 32-14 in the fourth quarter with 15-of-16 free-throw shooting. It was the highest-scoring quarter against GCU since November, when Arizona State rallied with a 35-18 fourth quarter.
The Lopes still led 54-45 when freshman guard Ellie Buzzelle made a 3-pointer off junior forward Tiarra Brown's offensive rebound and kickout assist with eight minutes to go. A pair of GCU turnovers for fastbreak layups fed Southern Utah's 26-9 close to the game.
"We've got to be a little bit smarter when we have the lead," Miller said. "We've talked about that before. Sending them to the free throw line way too many times, those are free. We can't put them on the line toward the end of the game and stop the clock when we have a lead. It was like automatic at the free throw line."
Harper keeps rewarding the coaching staff for her expanded role down the stretch, when she has averaged 20 minutes in the past five games.
The 6-foot-3 Hartland, Wisconsin, native went to work on the post for six first-quarter points but was also part of the third-quarter, 3-point barrage with her first made 3 since Dec. 11.
"Just having the confidence from my coaches and teammates made the difference," Harper said. "I know I have full range to do what I want to do in there. "
Harper is shooting 57% from the field for the season and is now 3 for 4 on 3-pointers.
"Alaina's seasoned now – a seasoned freshman," Miller said. "We have a lot of belief and confidence in her. She can do a lot for us out there, which is why you're seeing her out there on the floor often."
The game included good news with the return of junior Sydney Palma, a starting guard until a knee injury that kept her to playing two games since Dec. 29. She logged five minutes and made two free throws.
The game marked the largest foul disparity of the season (26 for GCU, 14 for Southern Utah) with the Thunderbirds capitalizing by making 30 of 35 free throws.
"It gives us all confidence because we know we're in those games," Harper said. "We just have to finish it out strong. We know we have what it takes to beat those top teams. We wanted that one, but we have a really good fuel to our fire going into the tournament."
Even on a night when no GCU starter scored in double figures and sophomore point guard Aaliyah Collins' pressure defense was stifled by foul trouble, the Lopes were in a position to win because their bench outscored the conference champions' reserves 34-6.
GCU senior forward Dominique Phillips scored 10 off the bench and Buzzelle, free from a shooting hand brace, added eight more to follow up her 15-point game at Utah Tech on Tuesday.
"It's a good game even in a loss to be able to springboard you into the tournament," Miller said.
Instead, losing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter placed more of a rock-sized chip on its shoulder after the Lopes lost 71-63 because of a 30-11 Thunderbirds advantage in free throw points and a critical late-game technical foul against GCU.
The loss does not change the postseason fate of the Lopes (20-9, 12-6 WAC), who receive a WAC Tournament first-round bye as the No. 3 seed and will play a Wednesday quarterfinal at 9 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Las Vegas' Orleans Arena against Monday's UT Arlington-Seattle U winner.
But when GCU made four 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the third quarter, the Lopes were on their way to a marquee victory with a 49-39 lead at Southern Utah, which went 12-1 at home this season.
Instead, the Thunderbirds (20-9, 16-2 WAC) used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 54-54 and was leading 60-58 when GCU head coach Molly Miller was assessed a technical foul while the Lopes had possession with 2:14 remaining. The free throws and change of possession sent Southern Utah to a 63-58 lead before GCU got the ball back.
The Lopes cut the margin to 63-60 on two free throws by freshman power forward Alaina Harper, who scored 14 points for her first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 11. The Thunderbirds went 6 for 6 on free throws to close out their win that clinched an outright conference championship. Southern Utah won both meetings narrowly, needing to rally from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit in Phoenix to prevail 63-60 on Jan. 25."I think that was a very winnable game for us, and some things did not go our way at the end," Miller said after Southern Utah broke its season high for made free throws by 10. "It makes us ready for the next one, and we will be ready for the next one."
Through three quarters, GCU was holding Southern Utah to 30.6% shooting with 21 turnovers. But the Thunderbirds outscored the Lopes 32-14 in the fourth quarter with 15-of-16 free-throw shooting. It was the highest-scoring quarter against GCU since November, when Arizona State rallied with a 35-18 fourth quarter.
The Lopes still led 54-45 when freshman guard Ellie Buzzelle made a 3-pointer off junior forward Tiarra Brown's offensive rebound and kickout assist with eight minutes to go. A pair of GCU turnovers for fastbreak layups fed Southern Utah's 26-9 close to the game.
"We've got to be a little bit smarter when we have the lead," Miller said. "We've talked about that before. Sending them to the free throw line way too many times, those are free. We can't put them on the line toward the end of the game and stop the clock when we have a lead. It was like automatic at the free throw line."
Harper keeps rewarding the coaching staff for her expanded role down the stretch, when she has averaged 20 minutes in the past five games.The 6-foot-3 Hartland, Wisconsin, native went to work on the post for six first-quarter points but was also part of the third-quarter, 3-point barrage with her first made 3 since Dec. 11.
"Just having the confidence from my coaches and teammates made the difference," Harper said. "I know I have full range to do what I want to do in there. "
Harper is shooting 57% from the field for the season and is now 3 for 4 on 3-pointers.
"Alaina's seasoned now – a seasoned freshman," Miller said. "We have a lot of belief and confidence in her. She can do a lot for us out there, which is why you're seeing her out there on the floor often."
The game included good news with the return of junior Sydney Palma, a starting guard until a knee injury that kept her to playing two games since Dec. 29. She logged five minutes and made two free throws.
The game marked the largest foul disparity of the season (26 for GCU, 14 for Southern Utah) with the Thunderbirds capitalizing by making 30 of 35 free throws.
"It gives us all confidence because we know we're in those games," Harper said. "We just have to finish it out strong. We know we have what it takes to beat those top teams. We wanted that one, but we have a really good fuel to our fire going into the tournament."
Even on a night when no GCU starter scored in double figures and sophomore point guard Aaliyah Collins' pressure defense was stifled by foul trouble, the Lopes were in a position to win because their bench outscored the conference champions' reserves 34-6.
GCU senior forward Dominique Phillips scored 10 off the bench and Buzzelle, free from a shooting hand brace, added eight more to follow up her 15-point game at Utah Tech on Tuesday.
"It's a good game even in a loss to be able to springboard you into the tournament," Miller said.
Team Stats
GCU
SUU
FG%
.354
.388
3FG%
.316
.200
FT%
.688
.857
RB
24
48
TO
12
23
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballF
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