Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at #2 South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at 4 p.m. (MST)
W Basketball
4 p.m. (MST)
at #2 South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, November 14
Phoenix, Ariz.
4:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon
2-1,0-0WAC
70
vs
59
Arizona State
1-2,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
13
20
22
15
70
Arizona St.
23
19
12
5
59
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
GCU stands tall to rally past ASU
11/14/2024 6:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
Durazo'-Frescas goes 6-10 on 3s; Lopes shut down Devils in 4th
Lope Nation took over the north end of Footprint Center, awaiting for the arrival of Grand Canyon on Thursday evening.
It was not just waiting for the Lopes to switch sides after halftime to shoot at the north basket. It was waiting for the GCU team that is most familiar, the version that wiped away a nine-point halftime deficit to overwhelm Arizona State for a 70-59 Hall of Fame Series victory.
The suffocating defense. The entertaining pace. The lights-out shooting. The Havocs.
GCU (2-1) restored all of it in a more precise second half to complete a 23-point turnaround on ASU, retaking the lead on senior forward Tiarra Brown's basket to end the third quarter and limiting ASU (1-2) to three points over the fourth quarter's first eight minutes.
"I loved it," Brown said of the GCU-dominated neutral site for a downtown showdown of schools 20 miles apart. "I think it got us going in the second half for sure."
After trailing by as much as 12 in the game and still down 46-39 four minutes into the second half, the first GCU onslaught began with senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas dropping a corner 3-point off Brown's feed.
When the stifling ball pressure followed with a block and a steal, GCU junior guard Trinity San Antonio raced to a fastbreak layup and then set up another Durazo-Frescas 3 to take a 47-46 lead and fire up the purple faithful. It was part of Durazo-Frescas making 6 of 10 tries from the 3-point arc and well beyond for 22 points, two off her career high.
"I've never experienced anything like the Havocs," said Durazo-Frescas, who transferred from UNLV this year. "Them cheering as loud as they can is surreal."
The Lopes' defense limited ASU to one shot over the fourth quarter's first three minutes with senior guard Trinity San Antonio and Brown each drawing offensive fouls as a pair of Frescas-Durazo 3s and a Brown baseline drive opened the lead to 63-54 with 8:21 to go.
The Sun Devils scored their first fourth-quarter basket midway through the fourth quarter but never closed the Lopes' lead to fewer than six points. A 3-pointer from GCU graduate guard Sydney Erikstrup, who transferred from ASU in 2023, was the dagger for the win that made her 2-0 against the Sun Devils. GCU won 66-59 at ASU last season.
In addition to Durazo-Frescas' sharpshooting for the second-most 3s of her career, San Antonio's 13 points in just 22 minutes and Brown's 14 points supplemented the GCU offense. The Lopes' defense held the Sun Devils to 25% shooting and 14 turnovers in the second half. Five GCU players tallied multiple steals with Brown snagging three of them and blocking three shots.
It all came in front of a massive GCU throng of fans that took over the north side of the Footprint Center, where the Havocs began their rowdy doubleheader night. The women's/men's event drew 13,705 fans to the Phoenix Suns' and Mercury's arena.
"What an incredible environment that's unmatched," Miller said. "They really fueled us. What an amazing atmosphere for women's basketball.
"It was pretty incredible to have that kind of support here at GCU. They came out and painted the Footprint Center purple, and it was fun to be a part of that."
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GCU was buried in foul trouble in the first half, when it dug a 42-33 halftime hole after six players drew two fouls apiece.
The Lopes still stayed nearly even with the Sun Devils on free throw scoring (ASU 12-11), but their turnover and shooting issues kept them from leading again after the game's first point by San Antonio.
San Antonio picked up her second foul less than five minutes into the first half and did not return. GCU remained close in the first quarter without her until the end of the first quarter, when ASU's 7-0 run blitzed the Lopes in 90 seconds for a 23-13 lead after one quarter.
Brown, who moved into fifth place on the program's all-time scoring list, opened the second quarter with a 3-point play, but a pair of ASU 3-pointers kept the margin wide as Lopes wound up with a 12-player, first-half rotation because of the foul issues.
Just when Durazo-Frescas' first 3-pointer cut the ASU lead to five, the Sun Devils went on another 7-0 run with the help of the Lopes' 11th first-half turnover.
Trailing 42-30, Durazo-Frescas added a second 3 off senior guard Ale'jah Douglas' third first-half assist to cut the ASU halftime lead to 42-33.Â
"We were searching a little bit," Miller said of the first half. "Too many turnovers. So we just regouped at halfitme and then we came out and played our brand of basketball."
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It was not just waiting for the Lopes to switch sides after halftime to shoot at the north basket. It was waiting for the GCU team that is most familiar, the version that wiped away a nine-point halftime deficit to overwhelm Arizona State for a 70-59 Hall of Fame Series victory.
The suffocating defense. The entertaining pace. The lights-out shooting. The Havocs.
GCU (2-1) restored all of it in a more precise second half to complete a 23-point turnaround on ASU, retaking the lead on senior forward Tiarra Brown's basket to end the third quarter and limiting ASU (1-2) to three points over the fourth quarter's first eight minutes.
"I loved it," Brown said of the GCU-dominated neutral site for a downtown showdown of schools 20 miles apart. "I think it got us going in the second half for sure."
After trailing by as much as 12 in the game and still down 46-39 four minutes into the second half, the first GCU onslaught began with senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas dropping a corner 3-point off Brown's feed.When the stifling ball pressure followed with a block and a steal, GCU junior guard Trinity San Antonio raced to a fastbreak layup and then set up another Durazo-Frescas 3 to take a 47-46 lead and fire up the purple faithful. It was part of Durazo-Frescas making 6 of 10 tries from the 3-point arc and well beyond for 22 points, two off her career high.
"I've never experienced anything like the Havocs," said Durazo-Frescas, who transferred from UNLV this year. "Them cheering as loud as they can is surreal."
The Lopes' defense limited ASU to one shot over the fourth quarter's first three minutes with senior guard Trinity San Antonio and Brown each drawing offensive fouls as a pair of Frescas-Durazo 3s and a Brown baseline drive opened the lead to 63-54 with 8:21 to go.
The Sun Devils scored their first fourth-quarter basket midway through the fourth quarter but never closed the Lopes' lead to fewer than six points. A 3-pointer from GCU graduate guard Sydney Erikstrup, who transferred from ASU in 2023, was the dagger for the win that made her 2-0 against the Sun Devils. GCU won 66-59 at ASU last season.
"For us, it's pressure but it is also a unit," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "A one-on-one defensive scheme can't be a unit of defense. We really try to get in our gaps, stunt, help side, come over and take some charges. When they had maybe a mismatch in the post, our posts fought around. We had back-side help. Those are things we were working on in practice all week. Kudos to our kids for carrying over that game plan.
"It's heart on that end and effort. Those are two things we really, really care about in our program."
In addition to Durazo-Frescas' sharpshooting for the second-most 3s of her career, San Antonio's 13 points in just 22 minutes and Brown's 14 points supplemented the GCU offense. The Lopes' defense held the Sun Devils to 25% shooting and 14 turnovers in the second half. Five GCU players tallied multiple steals with Brown snagging three of them and blocking three shots.It all came in front of a massive GCU throng of fans that took over the north side of the Footprint Center, where the Havocs began their rowdy doubleheader night. The women's/men's event drew 13,705 fans to the Phoenix Suns' and Mercury's arena.
"What an incredible environment that's unmatched," Miller said. "They really fueled us. What an amazing atmosphere for women's basketball.
"It was pretty incredible to have that kind of support here at GCU. They came out and painted the Footprint Center purple, and it was fun to be a part of that."
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GCU was buried in foul trouble in the first half, when it dug a 42-33 halftime hole after six players drew two fouls apiece.
The Lopes still stayed nearly even with the Sun Devils on free throw scoring (ASU 12-11), but their turnover and shooting issues kept them from leading again after the game's first point by San Antonio.
San Antonio picked up her second foul less than five minutes into the first half and did not return. GCU remained close in the first quarter without her until the end of the first quarter, when ASU's 7-0 run blitzed the Lopes in 90 seconds for a 23-13 lead after one quarter.
Brown, who moved into fifth place on the program's all-time scoring list, opened the second quarter with a 3-point play, but a pair of ASU 3-pointers kept the margin wide as Lopes wound up with a 12-player, first-half rotation because of the foul issues.
Just when Durazo-Frescas' first 3-pointer cut the ASU lead to five, the Sun Devils went on another 7-0 run with the help of the Lopes' 11th first-half turnover.
Trailing 42-30, Durazo-Frescas added a second 3 off senior guard Ale'jah Douglas' third first-half assist to cut the ASU halftime lead to 42-33. "We were searching a little bit," Miller said of the first half. "Too many turnovers. So we just regouped at halfitme and then we came out and played our brand of basketball."
GCU, which only made four turnovers in the second half, had just dealt with a high-caliber game and having to fight from behind when it lost 57-47 at Middle Tennessee, a team receiving AP Top 25 votes, on Friday.
"We've learned early in the season what that feels like, how we need to come out and prepare for that, how we need to execute during those high-level games, the value of every possession," Miller said. "Today, we got 12 o-boards (offensive rebounds), and those are extra chances for us. Those little things that you learn in those big games, hopefully they trickle down. We have this tough nonconference schedule to prepare us for March."
GCU keeps challenging itself with its next game, a Monday contest at No. 25 Oregon (4-0).
Team Stats
GCU
ASU
FG%
.383
.339
3FG%
.360
.263
FT%
.577
.800
RB
41
39
TO
15
19
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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