Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Carolina on November 3, 2025 at TBA
W Basketball
TBA
at South Carolina
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, March 12
Las Vegas, Nev.
12 p.m.
Grand Canyon
30-2,16-0WAC
71
vs
47
(8) Utah Tech
6-25,1-15WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Utah Tech
7
6
18
16
47
Grand Canyon
10
24
22
15
71
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
GCU advances with scoring star, WAC record-setter
3/12/2025 3:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
San Antonio's 25 points, Durazo-Frescas' conference 3s record propel WAC quarterfinal win
LAS VEGAS – Utah Tech should not feel bad about having a close game after one quarter with Grand Canyon get away from them again and again.
It has happened often for GCU's 28 consecutive wins, the nation's longest active winning streak with Wednesday's 71-47 WAC Tournament quarterfinal blowout of Utah Tech at Orleans Arena.
The Lopes (30-2) reached 30 wins for the first time in program history by turning a three-point lead after one quarter into a 24-point rout, just as they previously turned four- and five-point leads after first quarters against Utah Tech into 13- and 32-point wins.
Eight of the Lopes' wins this season came after they faced a first-quarter deficit, winning those games by an average of 9.5 points. After outscoring opponents by an average of 14 points per game in middle quarters this season, GCU turned lethal again with 46-24 middle quarters Wednesday to advance to a noon Friday semifinal against Thursday's Abilene Christian-Utah Valley quarterfinal winner.
"We settle in based on our defense," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "If we're not hitting shots, as long as they're not hitting shots because of our suffocating defense, then we'll be OK and we'll find our groove. That's exactly what happened. You expect that a little bit in that first quarter, first game, first round of the tournament."
The Lopes tied UCLA for the best winning percentage (.938) in the nation with senior guard Trinity San Antonio living up to her WAC Player of the Year award. Playing in her fourth WAC Tournament, San Antonio scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
"It's kind of the same game wherever you go … I can be in Paris, I can be here," said San Antonio, who played in the Paris Olympics for Puerto Rico last summer. "It's the same basketball game. You're always going to get butterflies, but knowing where you've been and the ground you've been on helps a little bit."
Although graduate forwards Laura Erikstrup (14 points and eight rebounds) and Tiarra Brown (10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots) also starred, GCU senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas drew the spotlight with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half.
It was Durazo-Frescas' 115th 3-pointer of the season to break a 26-year-old WAC record set by Hall of Famer and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon in 1998-99 at Colorado State.
"I know of her really well, being Las Vegas for the last three years of my life, watching the Aces play, watched her coach, watched her as a player," Durazo-Frescas said. "Breaking the record is cool, but winning the ring is even better, so that's all I'm really focused on right now."
Durazo-Frescas is second nationally for 3-point percentage at 46.9% and leads the nation with 3.97 made 3s per game.
She opened and eneded the second quarter with 3s, bookending GCU's 24-6 second quarter that contrasted its 10-7 start after one quarter. Utah Tech went 2 of 14 from the field with eight turnovers in the second quarter, when the Lopes opened it by forcing four consecutive turnovers for a 9-0 run.
GCU, 10th nationally for opponent turnovers per game, forced 21 turnovers with senior guard Callie Cooper's five steals to reinforce its defensive brand in a season that also advanced the offense. The Lopes entered Wednesday as the nation's second-best shooting team (49.4%). The offensive efficiency hit in the third quarter, when GCU went on an 11-0 run over five possessions to lead 52-23.
"When you're holding a team to single digits from the get-go, I think you're setting the tone," Miller said of Utah Tech's 13-point first half. "That's what has won us games. That's what is going to continue to win us games."
GCU's 28-game winning streak is six games longer than the next closest winning streaks (FGCU and Green Bay). The Lopes join this season's 30-win club with the likes of UCLA, UConn, Texas, USC and TCU.
"It means we have some really good kids that are bought into a system and bought into each other," Miller said. "They came every day and worked. So, it's not like 30 wins just appear. There was a lot of behind the scenes that goes on.
"When you have a group like that who's hungry, who works hard, who plays true team basketball, then I guess this is the result. We just want a few more."
It has happened often for GCU's 28 consecutive wins, the nation's longest active winning streak with Wednesday's 71-47 WAC Tournament quarterfinal blowout of Utah Tech at Orleans Arena.
The Lopes (30-2) reached 30 wins for the first time in program history by turning a three-point lead after one quarter into a 24-point rout, just as they previously turned four- and five-point leads after first quarters against Utah Tech into 13- and 32-point wins.
Eight of the Lopes' wins this season came after they faced a first-quarter deficit, winning those games by an average of 9.5 points. After outscoring opponents by an average of 14 points per game in middle quarters this season, GCU turned lethal again with 46-24 middle quarters Wednesday to advance to a noon Friday semifinal against Thursday's Abilene Christian-Utah Valley quarterfinal winner.
"We settle in based on our defense," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "If we're not hitting shots, as long as they're not hitting shots because of our suffocating defense, then we'll be OK and we'll find our groove. That's exactly what happened. You expect that a little bit in that first quarter, first game, first round of the tournament."The Lopes tied UCLA for the best winning percentage (.938) in the nation with senior guard Trinity San Antonio living up to her WAC Player of the Year award. Playing in her fourth WAC Tournament, San Antonio scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
"It's kind of the same game wherever you go … I can be in Paris, I can be here," said San Antonio, who played in the Paris Olympics for Puerto Rico last summer. "It's the same basketball game. You're always going to get butterflies, but knowing where you've been and the ground you've been on helps a little bit."
Although graduate forwards Laura Erikstrup (14 points and eight rebounds) and Tiarra Brown (10 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots) also starred, GCU senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas drew the spotlight with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half.
It was Durazo-Frescas' 115th 3-pointer of the season to break a 26-year-old WAC record set by Hall of Famer and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon in 1998-99 at Colorado State."I know of her really well, being Las Vegas for the last three years of my life, watching the Aces play, watched her coach, watched her as a player," Durazo-Frescas said. "Breaking the record is cool, but winning the ring is even better, so that's all I'm really focused on right now."
Durazo-Frescas is second nationally for 3-point percentage at 46.9% and leads the nation with 3.97 made 3s per game.
She opened and eneded the second quarter with 3s, bookending GCU's 24-6 second quarter that contrasted its 10-7 start after one quarter. Utah Tech went 2 of 14 from the field with eight turnovers in the second quarter, when the Lopes opened it by forcing four consecutive turnovers for a 9-0 run.
GCU, 10th nationally for opponent turnovers per game, forced 21 turnovers with senior guard Callie Cooper's five steals to reinforce its defensive brand in a season that also advanced the offense. The Lopes entered Wednesday as the nation's second-best shooting team (49.4%). The offensive efficiency hit in the third quarter, when GCU went on an 11-0 run over five possessions to lead 52-23."When you're holding a team to single digits from the get-go, I think you're setting the tone," Miller said of Utah Tech's 13-point first half. "That's what has won us games. That's what is going to continue to win us games."
GCU's 28-game winning streak is six games longer than the next closest winning streaks (FGCU and Green Bay). The Lopes join this season's 30-win club with the likes of UCLA, UConn, Texas, USC and TCU.
"It means we have some really good kids that are bought into a system and bought into each other," Miller said. "They came every day and worked. So, it's not like 30 wins just appear. There was a lot of behind the scenes that goes on.
"When you have a group like that who's hungry, who works hard, who plays true team basketball, then I guess this is the result. We just want a few more."
Team Stats
UTTECH
GCU
FG%
.318
.466
3FG%
.323
.313
FT%
.750
1.000
RB
24
39
TO
21
14
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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