WAC home opener set for Thursday night

Thursday, January 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Utah Valley

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1/7/2025 10:24:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Lopes test 12-game winning streak; Brown needs 3 points for GCU D-I scoring record

By: Nick Macdonald

Thursday, Jan. 9 \| 6 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (9-4, 1-0 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (14-2, 1-0 WAC)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45, Cable 9), ESPN+ \| STATS: LINK \| TICKETS: LINK

THIS GAME

Riding a 12-game winning streak with a perfect home record this season, Grand Canyon returns to Global Credit Union Arena for its first WAC home game of the season vs. Utah Valley. GCU's winning streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
Head coach Molly Miller is seeking her 100th career win at GCU, holding a 99-37 record with the Lopes. Miller is second all-time in wins in program history and holds the highest winning percentage (.728) at GCU.
Graduate forward Tiarra Brown is three points shy of breaking the Division I-era program record for most points in a career. Brown is at 1,348 points, just behind Jessica Gajewski (2014-18) with the record of 1,350 points. Brown is also 13 rebounds away from tying the program's all-time rebounding record for a career, trailing only Channa Speckman's 649 from 1992-96.

STORYLINES

GCU earned an 18-point road win to open WAC play Saturday at Southern Utah, extending a streak of 12 straight games with a win. The Lopes' winning streak is tied for the sixht-longest active streak in the nation, trailing only LSU, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Ohio State.
Lopes senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas is the nation's top 3-point scorer, ranking first in 3-pointers made (66) and 3-pointers made per game (4.13). She has made three or more 3s in eight straight games, notching four or more 3s in five of those contests. She set a GCU single-game record with nine made from beyond the arc Dec. 27 vs. Park Gilbert.
GCU ranks ninth in the country with a 49.2 field goal percentage. The Lopes have shot 50% or higher nine times this season, with only three games at less than 40%. Graduate forward Laura Erikstrup leads the Lopes with a 60.2% clip from the field, which ranks 16th in the nation and first in the WAC.
One of the best passing teams in the nation, GCU is 12th in the country with 18.9 assists per game. The Lopes have dished out 20 or more assists 10 times this season, including six times over the last eight games. Lopes senior guard Trinity San Antonio is 12th in the nation with 88 assists, ranking 15th with 5.9 per contest.
The defensive duo of Brown and San Antonio are first and second in the WAC, respectively, in steals. Brown tallied eight steals against Southern Utah on Saturday to come within one the program's all-time single-game record. Brown has 48 on the season, with San Antonio right behind her with 45.
Three of the WAC's top 10 scorers hail from GCU, led by Durazo-Frescas in second with 250 points on the season. Erikstrup in third with 241 points and San Antonio sixth with 210.
Head coach Molly Miller ranks fifth among active coaches in winning percentage (.838) with nine or more seasons of coaching. She trails only Geno Auriemma (UConn), Kim Caldwell (Tennessee), Kim Mulkey (LSU) and Jeff Hans (Northern Kentucky).
The Lopes are 60-12 at Global Credit Union Arena since Miller took the helm in 2020. GCU has won at least 12 games at home in each of her last three seasons in Phoenix and tied the Division I-era program record for most home wins in a season (13) last season.

LAST TIME THEY MET

GCU defeated Utah Valley in Phoenix last February to improve to 19-4 last season.
The Lopes scored 28 fourth-quarter points after being held to eight in the third quarter.
San Antonio and Brown combined for 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals as the team shot 56% in the fourth quarter with eight made free throws to close the game.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES

Utah Valley opened conference play with a road win over Abilene Christian and is 9-4 overall heading into Thursday's matchup. The Wolverines have won three in a row, with three games played since Dec. 16, compared to GCU's six games played since that date.
UVU is 2-0 against common GCU opponents, defeating CSU Bakersfield and Park Gilbert earlier in the season.
The Wolverines are known to put pressure on the ball with a WAC-leading 14.5 steals per game to rank sixth in the nation. Tahlia White has a team-high 32 steals, one of four Utah Valley players with 20 or more steals on the season.
UVU forces 24.8 turnovers per game, the 11th-best average in the country and first in the WAC.
The scoring comes from the depth of the Wolverines, who lead the WAC in bench points per game (27.6).
Kylee Mabry has 9.9 points per game, all coming from off the bench.
Danja Stafford averages 4.7 offensive boards per contest, sixth highest in the nation, to go along with her WAC-leading 9.4 rebounds per game.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes take the weekend off and return to action next Thursday, Jan. 16, at Abilene Christian.
GCU stays in Texas and faces Tarleton State on Saturday, Jan. 18, before returning home Jan. 23 versus Southern Utah.