Depth looks to shine in Saturday evening contest

Saturday, December 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Westcliff

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12/12/2024 12:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lopes aim for home game to extend winning streak to 6

By: Nick Macdonald

Saturday, Dec. 14 \| 6 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	WESTCLIFF WARRIORS (5-3)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (7-2)

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THIS GAME

Grand Canyon hosts Westcliff for the first time in program history Saturday evening for the second of seven straight games the Lopes will play at Global Credit Union Arena.
From Irvine, California, Westcliff is an NAIA program that plays in the Cal Pac Conference.
The Lopes have outscored its competition by 134 points at home this season, when its closest margin of victory was an 11-point win (69-58) over UC Santa Barbara.

STORYLINES

GCU extended its winning streak to five games Sunday with a 14-point win over Utah State and will try to make it six with a home game vs. Westcliff on Saturday evening.
GCU's offense has been rolling through the first nine games of the season, scoring 69 points or more in every win. The Lopes have shot better than 43% in each of its last five games, including a 52% mark against Utah State. The Lopes rank first in the WAC with a 45.6% field goal percentage.
Preseason WAC Player of the Year Trinity San Antonio has played up to the challenge of the award. She is averaging 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.9 steals this season. San Antonio totaled 36 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals last week to earn WAC Player of the Week.
GCU excelled from the line against Utah State on Sunday, going 12 of 13 from the charity stripe for a season-best 92% clip. GCU is 10-0 when shooting 90% or better (minimum eight attempts) from the free throw line under head coach Molly Miller.
Lopes senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas is one of the best sharpshooters in the country, ranking 11th in the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.1) and 17th in 3-pointers made (28). She has made three or more 3s in six games this season, with 10 made in her last three games.
San Antonio has dished out 55 assists this season to rank second in the WAC. Her assist count is 18th in the nation while her 6.1 assists per game are 15th in the country. She has totaled 14 assists in the past three games and 37 in her last five.
The Lopes are 55-12 at Global Credit Union Arena since head coach Molly Miller took the helm in 2020. GCU has won at least 12 games at home in each of her three seasons in Phoenix and tied the program's Division I-era record for most home wins in a season (13) on Feb. 24, 2024, during the 2023-24 campaign.
Head coach Molly Miller ranks fifth among active coaches in winning percentage (.834) with at least nine seasons of coaching. She trails only Geno Auriemma (UConn), Kim Caldwell (Tennessee), Kim Mulkey (LSU), and Jeff Hans (Northern Kentucky).

FIRST-EVER MEETING

The meeting between the Lopes and Warriors is the programs' first in history.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

Westcliff enters Phoenix with a 5-3 record. Saturday's game counts as an exhibition for the Warriors.
Westcliff defeated Benedictine Mesa 57-53 and fell to Utah Tech 63-40 earlier this season in games with common opponents that the Lopes faced or will face.
Hayley Berfield leads the team with an average of 15.5 points per game, making 13 3-pointers and tallying 23 steals.
Jayla Reliford leads the team in rebounds (55), assists (27) and steals (28).

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes stay in Phoenix and host the GCU Women's Basketball Have Fayth Christmas Classic presented by Tru Hilton on Dec. 18-21.
GCU will host Wright State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., Florida Atlantic on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and Georgia Southern on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 12:30 p.m.