What a rivalry it has become.
 
In another spirited game between the two rivals at the Canyon Activity Center on the GCU campus, Grand Canyon University Women's Club Basketball Team 1 gave up 26 2^nd-quarter points to Arizona State University Club Team 1, then spent the rest of the game playing catch-up in a 71-61 loss in the Arizona Women's Basketball League Championship game. Both teams entered the AWBL Playoffs with identical 9-1 league records and wound up championship game foes for the second consecutive year.
 
GCU, thanks to a semifinal-round forfeit win over Ottawa University, had the advantage of fresh legs to start the game. Lopes' senior Livi Wood established herself in the paint, scoring eight of the team's 13 1^st-quarter points. Despite that, ASU continued their momentum from their 62-53 semifinal win over Park University as Sun Devils' student leader Sasha Daniel scored 11 of her game-high 26 points in a back-and-forth 2^nd quarter. The Devils' 26 points in the period gave them a six-point lead at the half, which they maintained by fighting off the Lopes' rallies – in part to Valiyah Yazzie's four three-pointers.
 
The Lopes refused to go down without a fight, with GCU senior point guard Presley Blommers and teammate Kennady Broadbent applying perimeter pressure to keep the deficit within single digits for much of the second half. That pressure cost the Lopes late when they got into foul trouble, sending ASU to the free-throw line, where they converted 11 of 14 attempts to secure the victory. Wood led the Lopes in scoring with 18 points, while Kira Carter added 14.
 
GCU's season will continue as Team 1 and Team 2 prepare to compete in the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association Regionals held at the Canyon Activity Center, starting Friday, February 27.