Who needs a high seed?
 
After a surprising three-game losing streak near the end of the regular season dropped them to a No. 4 seed, Grand Canyon University Women's Club Basketball Team 1 won three games in a five-hour span at the Arizona Women's Basketball League Playoffs Saturday at the Canyon Activity Center to garner its first-ever AWBL Championship. The Lopes came from behind late in the quarterfinal round to defeat 5^th-seeded Bella Vista Prep, 65-62; used a dominating 3^rd quarter to pull away from 2^nd-seeded Arizona Christian University, 60-47, in the semifinals; then built an early lead and maintained it throughout the 2^nd half in the championship round to defeat upstart No. 6 seed Park University, 78-69. It was the first GCU win in four trips to the title matchup, and it's the first time in AWBL's four-year history that the regular season champion did not win the postseason tournament.
 
AWBL Quarterfinals: #4 GCU Team 1 65, #5 Bella Vista Prep 62
 
In a tournament filled with tight finishes, this may have been the closest game of the tournament-once the Lopes survived the 1^st quarter. The Bears came out with a high-powered and balanced attack, hitting a pair of three-pointers and getting six of their seven players into the scoring column en route to a 23-13 lead after one. The Lopes' defense adjusted, and for the next two periods, kept all but Bella Vista's three-point shooter Nikolina Vukcevic and six-foot-two center Maddie German at bay. That allowed the Lopes to cut the deficit to two points by the end of the third quarter. In the 4^th, the Bears got their starters back in the flow of the offense but made the mistake defensively of leaving GCU junior guard Ashtyn Nelson alone at the three-point line. Nelson took full advantage, hitting four treys in the final quarter – including one that gave the Lopes the lead for good in the game's final minute.

Nelson finished with six threes and a team-high 18 points, while Daniella Lopez chipped in 14 and Aubree Evans added 12. Vukcevic finished with 18 points to lead BV.
 
AWBL Semifinals: #4 GCU Team 1 60, #2 Arizona Christian 47
 
Despite the fact that a first-round bye gave the 2^nd-seeded Firestorm extra rest, the Lopes rode the high of the quarterfinal win into a 13-8 lead after one quarter - thanks in part to two more Nelson three-pointers. That woke the Firestorm defense up as they limited the Lopes to just nine points in the quarter (their lowest quarter output of the tournament) and battled back by halftime to tie the game at 22-22. If ACU thought fatigue was starting to overtake the Lopes' bench, they found out otherwise, since the Lopes started driving to the hoop more, resulting in more free throw attempts as well as several kickout passes that resulted in three 3^rd-quarter treys and a 40-32 lead. From there, the Lopes refused to let the Firestorm get close, with seven different GCU players scoring in a 20-point 4^th quarter. All 10 Lopes' players scored in the game – led by Evans' 12 points. Amari Burnette led ACU with 13 points in the loss.
 
AWBL Championship: #4 GCU Team 1 78, #6 Park 69
 
That put the Lopes into the title round for the 4^th straight time but pitted them against the team that finished an undefeated AWBL season last year by defeating 2^nd-seeded GCU, 57-53, in the title matchup. It also put them up against the one team hotter than them, since the Buccaneers had won four straight playoff games (counting Monday's play-in round) to get there – including an impressive come-from-behind win over top-seeded Dream City Christian in their semifinal game. Evans, Lopez and Taylor Hibike got the Lopes started well, combining to score all 18 of GCU's first-quarter points and give GCU a narrow 18-16 edge. The Lopes clamped down on the Bucs' offense in the second, limiting Park to just nine points in building a 34-25 halftime lead. That proved telling, since the two teams spent the tournament's final 20 minutes slugging out it offensively. The Lopes extended the lead to 52-38 after three quarters, thanks to aggressive drives that got them to the free throw line, but the 14-point lead was necessary. The Bucs exploded for 31 points in the 4^th quarter-19 of them coming from Allison DeBerry before she fouled out. Despite that, the Lopes neutralized Park with 26 points of their own in the final 10 minutes, balancing it among seven different players. DeBerry led the way for the Bucs with 26 points, but that was no match for the four GCU players in double figures, led by Good's 17 points, Lopez's 16, and 10 points each from Evans and Elleah Hoekert.
 
"It was an amazing team win," said Lopes' Head Coach Byron Jackson. "The girls demonstrated physical and mental toughness playing three games in one day. I couldn't be prouder of them and my coaching staff."
 
GCU Team 1 finished the AWBL season with a 9-4 mark, and now looks to the NIRSA National Basketball Championships, which will be held in College Park, Maryland, April 14-16.