Gritty 2nd half pushes Lopes to 19th straight win

Saturday, February 1

Orem, Utah

2 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

21-2,8-0WAC

Utah Valley

13-7,5-3WAC

Grand Canyon

Utah Valley

2/1/2025 5:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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San Antonio scores 21, guides GCU to program-record streak

By: Nick Macdonald

OREM, Utah – Grand Canyon trailed by 10 points Saturday after one quarter, its largest deficit after an opening period during its school-record winning streak. The response: the Lopes were tied at the half, led by nine points after three quarters and won 76-64 at Utah Valley for their 19th consecutive victory.

News and notes

GCU's win broke the program record for a winning streak of 18, which bridged the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. It is the nation's second-longest active winning streak to No. 1 UCLA's 20.
The Lopes are 21-2 overall and remain perfect in WAC play at 8-0. GCU entered Saturday atop the WAC and kept a one-game lead on UT Arlington while going three games ahead of Utah Valley at the conference season's midpoint.
GCU senior guard Trinity San Antonio scored a game-high 21 points – her fifth 20-plus scoring game of the season – and was just shy of a double-double with nine assists. San Antonio delivered 19 second-half points and finished the game 11 of 12 from the free throw line.
GCU shot 50% from the field for the 14th time this season and made 21 of 26 free throws, including 15 of 18 in the second half.

"It's always a tough place to play, and they're a physical team," Lopes head coach Molly Miller said. "It was a big fight. They tested us early, and we did a good job of composing ourselves. The game was a battle. I think that is good for us to be battle-tested. We had players fouling out. We had players with nosebleeds. To be resilient like that, I was proud of this team."

Playing in Lockhart Arena, GCU missed its first six shots of the game and made 3 of 14 first-quarter attempts. The slow start paved the way for Utah Valley (13-7, 5-3 WAC) to jump out to a 9-0 run and lead by as many as 11, shooting 57% and putting GCU into a 20-10 deficit after 10 minutes.

The Lopes' previous largest first-quarter deficit during its 19-game winning streak was five points at Arizona on Dec. 5 in Tucson.

It was the captain, graduate forward Tiarra Brown, that sparked the offense back to life on her 16-point, four-assist day. Brown made back-to-back layups to cut the Wolverines' lead to eight. Senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas knocked down a 3-pointer, and graduate forward Kristyna Jeskeova converted a layup, making it a one-possession game with six minutes to spare in the half.

While limited in 3-point attempts, graduate guard Anna Ostlie knocked down a corner 3 to fuel the Lopes bench into a frenzy. Graduate forward Laura Erikstrup made a fastbreak layup off Jeskeova's assist with seconds to spare in the half, making it a 32-32 game after a 22-12 Lopes second quarter.

The offense rallied off that success for 24 third-quarter points. San Antonio and Brown combined for 17 of those points and went 6 of 6 from the free throw line. The defense forced seven turnovers and turned those into 11 points. Utah Valley shot 62% from the field in the third quarter but was drastically limited in field goal attempts compared to previous quarters, attempting only eight shots after taking 29 in the first half.

The experience of Olympic play and tight international games allowed San Antonio to stay calm and composed, scoring 10 points and going 5 of 6 from the free throw line to keep the Wolverines at bay. Utah Valley got as close as five points twice, due to foul trouble from the Lopes that saw Erikstrup and Jeskeova foul out midway through the fourth.

Nine of the Lopes' 23 fouls were called in the final quarter of play in a 47-foul game.

GCU went 7 for 15 from 3-point range, making the Lopes 46% on 3s in the four games since winning at Tarleton State despite going 0 for 14 on 3s. The Lopes won Saturday despite Utah Valley shooting 47% from the field, the second-highest opponent percentage of the season for GCU.

"This team is different," Miller said. "I can say that with a smile on my face because I get to work with them every day. I get to go to practice and see the buy-in and see the commitment. One through 15, it's always been there. And they really root for each other, which is a special thing. You can be really good at Xs and Os, and I think we have the pieces, but that chemistry piece will put you over the top."

GCU returns home for three straight games at Global Credit Union Arena, the first being next Saturday vs. California Baptist at 2 p.m.