WBB: Lopes Alone at the Top, Wildcats Get Best Win of the Year and More
WBB: Lopes Alone at the Top, Wildcats Get Best Win of the Year and More
GCU stays unbeaten, ACU wins epic thriller, UT Arlington keeps rolling, SFA bounces back and more.
It was a busy week across the WAC with GCU sweeping a Texas road trip to take sole possession of first place, another Lope crossing 1,000 career points, an upset in Moody Coliseum and more.
Lopes Alone in First Place with Texas Two-Step Sweep
After losing Trinity San Antonio and Tiarra Brown to ankle injuries at the end of GCU’s win over Middle Tennessee State there were questions about if the Lopes could stay atop the WAC.
With wins over Abilene Christian and Tarleton, both away from Global Credit Union Arena, the Lopes have sole possession of first place in the WAC standings along with a 6-game winning streak.
Sydney Erikstrup has thrived since being inserted into the starting lineup, averaging 16.0 points and shooting 9-14 from 3-point range (64.3 percent). She had a career day on Saturday with 21 points in just 23 minutes of work.
Also, on Saturday in Stephenville, Olivia Lane recorded her 1,000th career point. She joins Shay Fano as the other Lope to cross that milestone this season.
GCU will finish its 3-game road trip at Utah Valley on Thursday and will host Seattle on Saturday.
Wildcats Knock Lancers from Unbeaten Ranks in Overtime Thriller
When Abilene Christian and CBU get together, points will be scored and the outcome is likely to be in doubt until the final horn.
The third matchup in the series between the Lancers and Wildcats, which led off the Saturday slate, was an instant classic with a combined 189 points, eight ties and 11 lead changes as Abilene Christian defeated CBU 96-93 in overtime.
With the loss, CBU falls a game behind Grand Canyon while ACU stays two games back.
Bella Earle had 24 points, hitting five 3-pointers, pulling down 15 rebounds and dishing six assists in the win.
Aspen Thornton added 20 more points. Also in double-digit scoring was Payton Hull (13 points), Meredith Mayes (13 points and 12 rebounds), and Claire Traeger (10 points).
Earle and Mayes set career marks for scoring along with CBU’s Chloe Webb, who had 37 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 36 minutes before fouling out in overtime.
Mayes did an admirable job of filling Addison Martin’s spot in the post after Martin was sidelined with an ankle injury just minutes into the game.
It’s ACU’s second straight year beating a team at the top of the WAC standings after defeating Southern Utah, the reigning regular season and tournament champion, in an 89-83 overtime thriller last season.
UT Arlington’s Winning Streak Reaches Seven
With basically a new roster in Arlington, Shereka Wright knew there might be some growing pains to start the 2023-24 season.
After a 1-8 (0-2 WAC) start to the year against arguably the WAC’s toughest non-conference schedule, Wright’s Lady Mavs team has put things together.
With wins this week over Utah Valley and Seattle, both on the road, UT Arlington has pushed its winning streak to eight.
One of the Lady Mavs biggest areas of improvement has been on the defensive end.
On the year, UT Arlington is giving up 73.6 points.
However, during the streak, opponents are scoring just 59.7 points.
This week that defensive improvement will be tested against an Abilene Christian offense that put up 94 points in their first meeting and is coming off a win against previously undefeated CBU.
SFA Bounces Back with Home Sweep of Utah Schools
Last week, the SFA Ladyjacks fell by 19 points in a road loss at UT Arlington where they were held to just 36.8 percent total field goal shooting and trailed for 37 minutes.
However, there’s no place like home to recover from a road loss and that’s exactly what the Ladyjacks did this week.
SFA swept Southern Utah and Utah Tech to stay one game behind GCU.
The Ladyjacks and Lopes will meet in Phoenix on January 25 for the first of two matchups. That’s part of a road trip which concludes on the 27th with a game in Riverside against CBU.
When it comes to home court advantage, SFA enjoys one of the best home records in mid-major women’s basketball, having lost just six games at the Sawmill since 2019-20.
Wolverines Break Through for First Win in WAC Play
Going into Saturday’s game at home against UTRGV, the Utah Valley women’s basketball team was the last team without a win in conference play.
However, the Wolverines got on the board with a 75-62 win over the Vaqueros.
Tessa Chaney had a career day with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines. Kylee Mabry added 17 points while Eleyana Tafisi chipped in 15 points with five assists for Utah Valley.
Arianna Sturdivant had 18 points while Charlotte O’Keefe had 14 points and 13 rebounds for UTRGV.
Utah Valley has struggled in WAC play over their last 24 games, posting a combined mark of 4-20 between last year and the first half dozen games of this year.
The Wolverines host Grand Canyon and visit Utah Tech this weekend.
WAC Standings through January 13:
GCU - 14-3 overall, 6-0 WAC
CBU - 13-2 overall, 5-1 WAC
SFA - 11-6 overall, 5-1 WAC
UT Arlington - 8-8 overall, 4-2 WAC
ACU - 7-7 overall, 3-2 WAC
Utah Tech - 8-8 overall, 2-3 WAC
SUU - 4-10 overall, 2-3 WAC
Tarleton - 4-10 overall, 1-4 WAC
Utah Valley - 6-9 overall, 1-5 WAC
UTRGV - 2-13 overall, 1-5 WAC
Seattle - 1-14 overall, 1-5 WAC
Power Rankings:
After a successful Texas road trip, GCU stays in the top spot this week.
However, UT Arlington moves into the second spot with their winning streak reaching seven and CBU falling in overtime at Abilene Christian.
SFA moves to third with a sweep of Southern Utah while the Lancers fall to fifth.
UT Arlington and ACU face off on Saturday at the College Park Center and next week SFA will play both CBU and GCU on the road after their bye on Saturday.