The Grand Canyon University Women's Club Basketball Gold team opened its home schedule with a strong 63-58 win over Arizona State University Club Team 1 in the Canyon Activity Center on the GCU campus. The team's Arizona Women's Basketball League opener marked the first win for the team's new head coach, Shane Kuyper, who joined the Lopes less than three weeks ago.
 
GCU's strong start set the tone of the game early, with energy and the Lopes' bench keeping the momentum rolling to the tune of a 23-8 lead after one quarter.
 
The defense from the Lopes limited ASU's ability to score inside, and although the Sun Devils began to find their groove toward the end of the second quarter, the early burst from the Lopes created a cushion that kept them in control at halftime, 32-25.
 
Throughout the second half, ASU continued to fight for momentum, eventually tying the game 56-56 with just over two minutes to play. The Lopes clamped down, holding the Sun Devils to just one bucket the rest of the way, while GCU senior Maggie Hobson drained a three-pointer and made two free throws with less than a minute left to seal the victory.
 
"If offense wasn't working for me, I could always do little things on defense like box out and rebound," said Lopes' forward Aliya Quintana, who scored 11 points on Monday. "If my shot's not going in – pass to someone."
 
This weekend the Lopes travel north to take on the Coyotes at the College of Southern Nevada, and will return home for their second AWBL matchup against Nelson University Arizona Monday, November 17 at 7:30PM. Admission to the game is free.