Historic season ends in NCAA tournament 1st round

Friday, March 21

Waco, Texas

12:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

32-3,16-0WAC

#14 Baylor

28-7,15-3Big 12

Grand Canyon

Baylor

Photo by: Tanielle Gilbert

3/21/2025 5:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score GCU Quotes Baylor Quotes Photo Gallery

San Antonio scores 27 as 13th-seeded Lopes hang tough with 4th-seeded Baylor

By: Nick Macdonald

WACO, Texas - Entering the national spotlight in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, Grand Canyon showed the college basketball world why it was a tough draw for any team it faced.

Entering with the nation's longest active winning streak at 30 games, GCU lost for the first time since Nov. 18 in a 73-60 defeated to fourth-seed Baylor at the Bears' home, Foster Pavilion Friday afternoon.

News and notes

The 2024-25 campaign ends with a 32-3 record, breaking records for most wins in program history and longest winning streak by a WAC team.
GCU senior guard Trinity San Antonio matched her season with 27 points, 23 of which came in the second half after sitting most of the first half with foul trouble. San Antonio kept the Lopes in striking distance in the third quarter, scoring 14 of her 27 in nine minutes of the third.
Graduate forward Tiarra Brown finished with seven points and eight rebounds, capping off her prolific five-year GCU career as the school's Division I-era record holder in points, steals and blocks and the all-time Lopes leader in rebounds.
Senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas did not make a 3-pointer for just the second time this season, finishing with four points and going 0 of 3 from beyond the arc.
The Lopes shot 34% from the field, just the sixth sub-40% shooting game this season.

"Obviously disappointed with the result but couldn't be prouder of our team and the fight, the effort, the grittiness, the toughness and the competitive fire they played with today," GCU head coach Molly Miller said. "They showed why they were 32-2 coming into this game. They (the Bears) were tough and are a good team, but we're a good team also. Drawing that 13 seed and having to play them in front of their home crowd made it even a tougher game, but we held with them for 40 minutes."

The Lopes made their presence known in front of the Waco crowd, converting four straight field goals and forcing Baylor (28-7) to call timeout four minutes into the contest. While undersized to Baylor's two 6-foot plus forwards, GCU maintained its position down low and held starting center Aaronette Vonleh to four points, two of which came on free throws, in the first quarter.

All five GCU starters found the scoring column early, mostly inside the paint as senior guard Callie Cooper's acrobatic lefthanded layup and graduate forward Laure Erikstrup's putback lay-in gave GCU its spark on the floor and the bench, which soon found itself to be a vital piece of the Lopes game plan.

San Antonio, Brown and Erikstrup each picked up two fouls early in the second quarter, sending Miller to her bench to keep hold with the Bears starting unit. Seniors Sydney Erikstrup, Anna Ostlie and Kristyna Jeskeova saw extended minutes, while seniors Ale'jah Douglas and Bridget Mullings answered the call to keep it a three-point game at halftime.

Ostlie, a Scottsdale native playing in her final collegiate game, collected an offensive board with a diving effort to secure the ball. She kicked out to Sydney Erikstrup, who swished a 3 from the wing to put the Lopes ahead 23-19. Ostlie's number was called on again at the buzzer, as time ticked down and a high-arching 3-pointer from the corner swished to close the gap.

"Even when three of the starters were out in the first half, the second group came in and did exactly what they needed to do by moving the ball and getting wide-open shots," Brown said.

The Bears flipped the script from the first quarter to the third, beginning on an 11-6 run to lead by as many as eight (42-34) with 5:10 left in the quarter. But San Antonio and Brown displayed their aggressive offensive skill sets, attacking the paint and scoring 11 of the final 13 points of the third to trail by six.

While Baylor was converting its scoring chances after a 71% clip from the floor in the third, San Antonio scored six points within 70 seconds early in the fourth, with no answer from the Bears on the defensive end for the WAC Player of the Year. Fouls accumulated for the Lopes, however, with Brown, Erikstrup and San Antonio each picking up their fourth fouls midway through the final quarter.

The Bears kept pushing the ball into the interior and eventually found itself at the line for 16 free throw attempt. The Bears shot 30 free throws to GCU's 17 attempts at the line, and a pair of free throws from Sarah Andrews made it a 66-57 Baylor lead with 3:31 to play.

GCU's remaining three points came from the line as the jumpers rattled in and out, going 0 for 5 over the final three minutes.

The Lopes finished the season 32-3 overall and 16-0 in WAC play, and claimed the WAC regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in program history.

"My biggest takeaway is that it's called March Madness for a reason," San Antonio said. "You've got to believe in the madness. At the end of the day, it's basketball no matter who you play, no matter where you are."