Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at TBA
W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 15
Las Vegas, Nev.
2:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon
24-8,16-4WAC
63
vs
66
(3) Stephen F. Austin
22-11,14-6WAC
1
2
3
4
F
SFA
3
25
21
17
66
Grand Canyon
17
8
20
18
63
Great start gives way to SFA in tight WAC semifinal
3/15/2024 5:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes led 17-3 after 1st quarter, but Ladjyacks go 3-0 in series
LAS VEGAS — Grand Canyon brought its best defensive quarter of the season for its opening quarter of WAC Tournament play on Friday.
The team that GCU head coach Molly Miller loves to coach because of how well it practices had taken the game plan to Stephen F. Austin, but the Ladyjacks wiped that work away in the second quarter and used a mix of power and 3-point shooting to pull off a 66-63 semifinal win at Orleans Arena.
"I just wanted to coach them," Miller said. "I wanted to go to practice. I wanted to get to know them. That, at the end of the day, is what I'm going to be very appreciative for. This team has earned some postseason life. We'll see how it all plays out.
"A collection of humans and individuals, I couldn't have asked for a better group of young women to be surrounded by."
The second-seeded Lopes (24-8) were aiming for their first WAC title but wound up being eliminated by the third-seeded Lumberjacks (22-11), who went 3-0 against GCU this season.
The Lopes led 17-3 at the first quarter for their lowest opponent scoring total of the season for any quarter ("A fun clinic defensively," Miller said), but SFA center Kurstyn Harden's return from early foul trouble flipped momentum with a 25-point Lumberjacks second quarter.
GCU trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter but rode the playmaking of senior forward Tiarra Brown (14 points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots) and junior guard Trinity San Antonio (18 points on 9-of-13 shooting) to take a 59-58 lead with 4:27 remaining.
The Lopes did not score for more than three minutes, including a turnover in which Brown injured her left hand. Stephen F. Austin used second-chance buckets to take back the lead and GCU pulled within a point twice in the final 1:04 on Brown free throws and a San Antonio baseline take.
The latter basket cut the Ladyjacks' lead to 64-63 with 37 seconds to go. GCU forced a miss but left Harden to grab the offensive rebound and get fouled. Harden sank two free throws with 5.8 seconds to go for a 66-63 lead.
The Lopes drew up a final play to get sharpshooter Anna Ostlie a corner 3-pointer, but San Antonio was unable to get the pass off and missed a shot in the lane to cap GCU's second consecutive WAC Tournament semifinal exit.
"You scratch your head a little bit," Miller said. "Why can't we get over the hump? That's our steps. I think there's nothing to be ashamed of with the product that we put on the floor this season. I hope we can carry that through to next season. I hope I'm sitting here celebrating a conference championship.
"I'm upset. I'm sad. I am beat up inside. I wanted that so bad for them, but I also had so much fun with them. I also know where we've gotten this thing to. And I also know where we're going to take it, and that's got to bring me some peace and joy."
Much of the despondency for the coaching staff comes from spending a unique season with its roster. Associate head coach Jason Glover told Miller that he never had coached a team that practiced as well as the Lopes did this season in his 35 years of collegiate coaching.
Brown was a leader in effort, from summer practices to the end of the WAC Tournament. The fourth-year, multi-skilled forward from Spanaway, Washington, single-handedly wiped away the four-point deficit that GCU started the fourth quarter facing.
"I'm just glad I was able to be on great teams, especially this one," Brown said. "In every loss, I'm glad we held our heads high. They weren't because we were bad or because the other team was just significantly greater than us. It's just always the little things. When you process that, it eases you up a little bit on the way ended. I still have my head held high."
Brown scored eight of the Lopes' first 10 fourth-quarter points and assisted on the other one to GCU ahead 55-54 in about two minutes. She did not get another shot for nearly five minutes, when she knifed through the Ladyjacks defense to draw a foul and hit two free throws that cut SFA's lead to 62-61 with 1:04 to go.
San Antonio made a defensive play to tie up SFA, but the possession arrow allowed the Ladyjacks to keep possession and set up a score. The last four SFA scores came on second chances, whether it be three offensive rebounds or the jump ball.
"It wasn't our night, but we've gotten to a place where we can use momentum, and the expectation is to get back here and win it all," Miller said.
GCU's defense was devastating in the first quarter, with a turning point coming when Brown took a charge for Harden's second foul just 2:35 into the game. The Ladyjacks went 0 for 7 with five turnovers before making their first shot with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter.
The 17-3 first quarter resulted in the least amount of points GCU had allowed in any quarter this season, although it had held opponents to four points twice.
"It was doom and gloom," SFA head coach Leonard Bishop said.
"We were too stagnant in the first quarter, which was allowing their pressure to get to us and push away from the basket."
Like the teams' last meeting in Nacogdoches, the Ladyjacks found its offense for the final three quarters – scoring 72 after the first quarter on March 2 and 63 this time. When nobody else could score, Harden's mix of power and skill scored SFA's final 11 points in a span that GCU scored eight.
San Antonio finished her first Lopes season after transferring from California Baptist with 18 points, three off a season high, and seven assists, one off her season high.
"The growth that I can see with me, and Tiarra as well, is stepping up and being more comfortable being a leader, whether it's being outspoken or showing by example," San Antonio said.
The team that GCU head coach Molly Miller loves to coach because of how well it practices had taken the game plan to Stephen F. Austin, but the Ladyjacks wiped that work away in the second quarter and used a mix of power and 3-point shooting to pull off a 66-63 semifinal win at Orleans Arena.
"I just wanted to coach them," Miller said. "I wanted to go to practice. I wanted to get to know them. That, at the end of the day, is what I'm going to be very appreciative for. This team has earned some postseason life. We'll see how it all plays out.
"A collection of humans and individuals, I couldn't have asked for a better group of young women to be surrounded by."
The second-seeded Lopes (24-8) were aiming for their first WAC title but wound up being eliminated by the third-seeded Lumberjacks (22-11), who went 3-0 against GCU this season.
The Lopes led 17-3 at the first quarter for their lowest opponent scoring total of the season for any quarter ("A fun clinic defensively," Miller said), but SFA center Kurstyn Harden's return from early foul trouble flipped momentum with a 25-point Lumberjacks second quarter.GCU trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter but rode the playmaking of senior forward Tiarra Brown (14 points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots) and junior guard Trinity San Antonio (18 points on 9-of-13 shooting) to take a 59-58 lead with 4:27 remaining.
The Lopes did not score for more than three minutes, including a turnover in which Brown injured her left hand. Stephen F. Austin used second-chance buckets to take back the lead and GCU pulled within a point twice in the final 1:04 on Brown free throws and a San Antonio baseline take.
The latter basket cut the Ladyjacks' lead to 64-63 with 37 seconds to go. GCU forced a miss but left Harden to grab the offensive rebound and get fouled. Harden sank two free throws with 5.8 seconds to go for a 66-63 lead.
The Lopes drew up a final play to get sharpshooter Anna Ostlie a corner 3-pointer, but San Antonio was unable to get the pass off and missed a shot in the lane to cap GCU's second consecutive WAC Tournament semifinal exit.
"You scratch your head a little bit," Miller said. "Why can't we get over the hump? That's our steps. I think there's nothing to be ashamed of with the product that we put on the floor this season. I hope we can carry that through to next season. I hope I'm sitting here celebrating a conference championship."I'm upset. I'm sad. I am beat up inside. I wanted that so bad for them, but I also had so much fun with them. I also know where we've gotten this thing to. And I also know where we're going to take it, and that's got to bring me some peace and joy."
Much of the despondency for the coaching staff comes from spending a unique season with its roster. Associate head coach Jason Glover told Miller that he never had coached a team that practiced as well as the Lopes did this season in his 35 years of collegiate coaching.
Brown was a leader in effort, from summer practices to the end of the WAC Tournament. The fourth-year, multi-skilled forward from Spanaway, Washington, single-handedly wiped away the four-point deficit that GCU started the fourth quarter facing.
"I'm just glad I was able to be on great teams, especially this one," Brown said. "In every loss, I'm glad we held our heads high. They weren't because we were bad or because the other team was just significantly greater than us. It's just always the little things. When you process that, it eases you up a little bit on the way ended. I still have my head held high."
Brown scored eight of the Lopes' first 10 fourth-quarter points and assisted on the other one to GCU ahead 55-54 in about two minutes. She did not get another shot for nearly five minutes, when she knifed through the Ladyjacks defense to draw a foul and hit two free throws that cut SFA's lead to 62-61 with 1:04 to go.
San Antonio made a defensive play to tie up SFA, but the possession arrow allowed the Ladyjacks to keep possession and set up a score. The last four SFA scores came on second chances, whether it be three offensive rebounds or the jump ball.
"It wasn't our night, but we've gotten to a place where we can use momentum, and the expectation is to get back here and win it all," Miller said.
GCU's defense was devastating in the first quarter, with a turning point coming when Brown took a charge for Harden's second foul just 2:35 into the game. The Ladyjacks went 0 for 7 with five turnovers before making their first shot with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter.
The 17-3 first quarter resulted in the least amount of points GCU had allowed in any quarter this season, although it had held opponents to four points twice.
"It was doom and gloom," SFA head coach Leonard Bishop said."We were too stagnant in the first quarter, which was allowing their pressure to get to us and push away from the basket."
Like the teams' last meeting in Nacogdoches, the Ladyjacks found its offense for the final three quarters – scoring 72 after the first quarter on March 2 and 63 this time. When nobody else could score, Harden's mix of power and skill scored SFA's final 11 points in a span that GCU scored eight.
San Antonio finished her first Lopes season after transferring from California Baptist with 18 points, three off a season high, and seven assists, one off her season high.
"The growth that I can see with me, and Tiarra as well, is stepping up and being more comfortable being a leader, whether it's being outspoken or showing by example," San Antonio said.
Team Stats
SFA
GCU
FG%
.469
.473
3FG%
.450
.222
FT%
.611
.818
RB
27
31
TO
19
16
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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