Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at TBA
W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Saturday, December 21
Phoenix, Ariz.
12:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon
11-2,0-0WAC
79
vs
52
Georgia Southern
7-5,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Ga. Southern
11
7
15
19
52
Grand Canyon
16
22
28
13
79
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Rout runs win streak to 9, sets GCU D-I era record
12/21/2024 4:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
Brown's all-around impact highlight group of 5 double-digit scorers
The Grand Canyon women's basketball team has a habit of winning, and consistency is taking over from there.
The Lopes set a Division I-era program record with their ninth consecutive win Saturday, beating Georgia Southern 79-52 at home for their eighth double-digit victory during the streak. GCU's only single-digit win of the nine-win run was a victory at Arizona for the Wildcats' only home loss of the season.
Saturday's lead reached 40 with GCU (11-2) putting five scorers in double figures for the fourth time this season and luring 27 Georgia Southern turnovers, matching its season high for a Division I opponent.
The Lopes were playing their third game in four days and the last game before a Christmas break. Neither was an issue against the Eagles (7-5) as GCU moved to 9-0 at home for the first time since its first D-I team in 2013-14.
"Truly great and special teams are consistent with their energy," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "They're consistent with their prep. They're consistent with their effort. And they were tunnel-visioned. It's easy to think about what comes after these 40 minutes, which is a break. But they were locked in for 40 minutes. That's one of my most proud moments."
The tone-setter for the entire Have Fayth Hospitality Christmas Classic was GCU graduate forward Tiarra Brown, who averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.7 rebounds with 59% shooting in the three wins at Global Credit Union Arena.
"She was like a walking billboard for the brand of Lope basketball," Miller said. "That's what I love about her."
When GCU only led 16-13 early in the second quarter Saturday, Brown dominated to spark a 14-0 run. Brown scored eight points and added three blocked shots and two steals in the second quarter. For the game, she tied her career highs for steals (six) and assists (five).
Brown's 232 career steals, 23rd best nationally among active Division I players, is a GCU Division I-era record by 105.
"We've had that kind of intensity, but not from the jump," Brown said. "That was our main focus. I feel like people low-key feed off of me, so I'm just trying to start it off so we can all have a good start."
Brown found graduate forward Nneka Obiazor, who matched her season high of 20 points, for a half-ending 3-pointer that put the Lopes ahead 38-18. Nearly half of the Eagles' first-half possessions ended in turnovers (16). GCU opponents are averaging 21.8 turnovers per game during the nine-game winning streak.
When Brown opened the second half with a steal, GCU senior guard Trinity San Antonion converted it to a driving 3-point play that started a 12-0 burst with a pair of 3-pointers by senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas.
With a 3-for-6 day from long distance, Durazo-Frescas has made 45.7% of her 3-point tries this season and is tied for the national lead for 3-pointers made (48) with TCU's Madison Conner.
The nine-game winning streak has coincided with graduate Laura Erikstrup's career-long streak of nine consecutive double-digit scoring games. The 6-foot-2 forward scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes on Saturday, putting her season scoring average at 14.2 to more that double last season's average (6.1).
GCU led 79-39 before reserves ended the game on seven consecutive turnovers. By then, the Lopes already had tallied 20 assists for the fifth consecutive game. San Antonio, who had a team-high six assists, said the ball sharing is the reason for GCU's consistency in a nine-game winning streak that is tied for the ninth-longest active streak in the nation.
"Some days, someone is going to have a good game," said San Antonio, who delivered 13 points while making only one turnover in 31 minutes. "Some days, someone else is going to have a good game. Our starting five and our core is so strong. Anybody who steps on the floor with us has got to be stronger than us."
Â
The Lopes will not play again until Friday, when Park (Arizona) visits Global Credit Union Arena. That will be followed by a Dec. 29 home matchup against Northern Arizona (9-3), which also beat Arizona State and Arizona this season.
"This team has done it the hard way," Miller said. "This schedule has not been a nonconference walk in the park so far. To do it with competition shows the level of basketball we're playing right now."
Â
The Lopes set a Division I-era program record with their ninth consecutive win Saturday, beating Georgia Southern 79-52 at home for their eighth double-digit victory during the streak. GCU's only single-digit win of the nine-win run was a victory at Arizona for the Wildcats' only home loss of the season.
Saturday's lead reached 40 with GCU (11-2) putting five scorers in double figures for the fourth time this season and luring 27 Georgia Southern turnovers, matching its season high for a Division I opponent.
The Lopes were playing their third game in four days and the last game before a Christmas break. Neither was an issue against the Eagles (7-5) as GCU moved to 9-0 at home for the first time since its first D-I team in 2013-14.
"Truly great and special teams are consistent with their energy," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "They're consistent with their prep. They're consistent with their effort. And they were tunnel-visioned. It's easy to think about what comes after these 40 minutes, which is a break. But they were locked in for 40 minutes. That's one of my most proud moments."
The tone-setter for the entire Have Fayth Hospitality Christmas Classic was GCU graduate forward Tiarra Brown, who averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.7 rebounds with 59% shooting in the three wins at Global Credit Union Arena."She was like a walking billboard for the brand of Lope basketball," Miller said. "That's what I love about her."
When GCU only led 16-13 early in the second quarter Saturday, Brown dominated to spark a 14-0 run. Brown scored eight points and added three blocked shots and two steals in the second quarter. For the game, she tied her career highs for steals (six) and assists (five).
Brown's 232 career steals, 23rd best nationally among active Division I players, is a GCU Division I-era record by 105.
"We've had that kind of intensity, but not from the jump," Brown said. "That was our main focus. I feel like people low-key feed off of me, so I'm just trying to start it off so we can all have a good start."
Brown found graduate forward Nneka Obiazor, who matched her season high of 20 points, for a half-ending 3-pointer that put the Lopes ahead 38-18. Nearly half of the Eagles' first-half possessions ended in turnovers (16). GCU opponents are averaging 21.8 turnovers per game during the nine-game winning streak.
When Brown opened the second half with a steal, GCU senior guard Trinity San Antonion converted it to a driving 3-point play that started a 12-0 burst with a pair of 3-pointers by senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas.With a 3-for-6 day from long distance, Durazo-Frescas has made 45.7% of her 3-point tries this season and is tied for the national lead for 3-pointers made (48) with TCU's Madison Conner.
The nine-game winning streak has coincided with graduate Laura Erikstrup's career-long streak of nine consecutive double-digit scoring games. The 6-foot-2 forward scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes on Saturday, putting her season scoring average at 14.2 to more that double last season's average (6.1).
GCU led 79-39 before reserves ended the game on seven consecutive turnovers. By then, the Lopes already had tallied 20 assists for the fifth consecutive game. San Antonio, who had a team-high six assists, said the ball sharing is the reason for GCU's consistency in a nine-game winning streak that is tied for the ninth-longest active streak in the nation.
"Some days, someone is going to have a good game," said San Antonio, who delivered 13 points while making only one turnover in 31 minutes. "Some days, someone else is going to have a good game. Our starting five and our core is so strong. Anybody who steps on the floor with us has got to be stronger than us."
Â
The Lopes will not play again until Friday, when Park (Arizona) visits Global Credit Union Arena. That will be followed by a Dec. 29 home matchup against Northern Arizona (9-3), which also beat Arizona State and Arizona this season.
"This team has done it the hard way," Miller said. "This schedule has not been a nonconference walk in the park so far. To do it with competition shows the level of basketball we're playing right now."
Â
Team Stats
GS
GCU
FG%
.367
.516
3FG%
.250
.375
FT%
.455
.900
RB
36
30
TO
27
17
STL
8
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballNon-Conference Schedule Release | GCU Women's Basketball
Monday, August 18
Mic'd Up: Sidney Anderson & Karley Johnson | Women's Hoops
Monday, August 11
Mic'd Up: Kaitlyn Elsholz | Women's Hoops
Monday, August 11
Chats with Jules | Women’s Basketball
Sunday, August 10