PHOENIX - Abilene Christian women's basketball couldn't overcome a strong Grand Canyon defense en route to a 70-57 loss at Global Credit Union Arena at GCU on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats fell to 20-11 and 9-7 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Lopes improved to a league-best 29-2 and stretched their winning streak to 27 games.
The loss locked ACU into a No. 4 seed at next week's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, where it will face No. 5 Utah Valley at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinal round. The Wolverines beat Tarleton State on Saturday, 75-58, and trail the Wildcats in the WAC Résumé Seeding System.
Breanna Davis led the Wildcats with 11 points, followed by
Bella Earle and
Natalia Chavez with 10 points each. Chavez recorded her most points in conference play this season, while Earle added six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Grand Canyon was led by five scorers in double figures, headlined by Laura Erikstrup's 16 points. The conference's leader in field goal percentage sank seven of eight shots and brought down eight boards. Alyssa Durazo-Frescas scored 15 with five three-pointers, as both her and Callie Cooper recorded four steals.
Trinity San Antonio, Anna Ostlie and Tiarra Brown logged 12 points each, with San Antonio registering a double-double thanks to 10 assists. The Lopes shot 53.1% as a team compared to the Wildcats' 31.3% clip. It was ACU's second-lowest shooting performance of the season.
However, both squads raced to a hot start with their offenses on full display. Davis got the Wildcats started by nailing her first two three-point tries, and
Erin Woodson's three-pointer with 4:45 to go gave them a 15-14 edge.
ACU scored just two points for the remainder of the quarter, though, as Grand Canyon launched a 12-2 run to take a 26-17 lead at the end of the period. Davis and Woodson energized the Wildcats with six points apiece, while Erikstrup powered the Lopes with 10 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting. Grand Canyon shot 69% in the quarter with 16 points coming in the paint.
The Wildcats stepped up their defense in the second quarter to limit the Lopes to just 14 points while scoring 15 of their own. Grand Canyon was held scoreless for the final 2:14 of the half, and Erikstrup couldn't find the basket in the period. The Lopes shot just 1 of 8 from deep.
Zoe Jackson added five points for ACU, and Davis' three free throws with two seconds remaining trimmed the deficit to single digits.
Grand Canyon showcased its WAC-leading defense in holding ACU to just 10 points in the third quarter. The Lopes shot 60% from the field compared to a 1-of-9 mark for the Wildcats. Both teams benefitted from seven free throws apiece, with Ostlie nailing four as part of a 10-point quarter that saw Grand Canyon take a 62-42 lead.
ACU was held scoreless for nearly four minutes in the quarter, triggering a 10-0 Grand Canyon run. The Wildcats gave the ball away six times behind five Lope steals.
Despite holding Grand Canyon to just eight points and eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, ACU's 20-point deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Natalia Chavez scored seven of the Wildcats' 15 points, yet ACU made just three of 12 field goal attempts. It shot 4 of 21 in the second half.
