Lopes to Host GCU Thanksgiving Classic

FRIDAY, NOV. 25
12:00 p.m. MST \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.
GRAND CANYON LOPES 1-2 (0-0 WAC) Stats .pdf Link GAME NOTES	vs.	DENVER PIONEERS 2-2 (0-0 SUMMIT LEAGUE) Stats .pdf Link GAME NOTES
HOW TO FOLLOW GCU TV \| Live Stats \| @GCU_W BB

SATURDAY, NOV. 26
3:00 p.m. MST \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.
GRAND CANYON LOPES 0-2 (0-0 WAC) Stats .pdf Link GAME NOTES	vs.	IDAHO VANDALS 2-1 (0-0 BIG SKY)
HOW TO FOLLOW G CU TV \| Live Stats \| @GCU_WBB

The Grand Canyon women's basketball team will return home to host the GCU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25-26 as they welcome Denver, Idaho and Northern Iowa to GCU Arena. The Lopes will play Denver on Friday, Nov. 25 at noon. GCU will conclude its homestand on Saturday Nov. 26 against Idaho. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. MST.

The Lopes look to bounce back from a tough loss at Rice and pick up their second victory of the young season and remain perfect in GCU Arena.

Last Time Out
GCU fell to Rice 64-50 in a physical contest Tuesday night. While the Lopes claimed 21 rebounds in the first quarter, with 10 offensive boards, they weren't able to convert the opportunities into points and struggled to get in a rhythm throughout the course of the contest. The Lopes had their best showing of the night in the second quarter as they shot 46.2 percent from the field and were able to cut the Owls lead to six with a 26-6 finish to end the first half.

In the second half, the Lopes came out aggressive as Jessica Gajewski nailed a 3-pointer to get GCU within three. The Owls quickly answered, rattling off six points from three consecutive layups to extend their lead back to 11. The Lopes couldn't mount a rally in the final quarter. GCU continued to try and get their offense in a rhythm, but were thwarted by an aggressive Rice defense that grabbed eight defensive rebounds for a total of 10 in the fourth. The Lopes remained steadfast, but the Owls continued to collect points off GCU turnovers which led to the final outcome of 64-50.

GCU STARTING FIVE

Marina Laramie led the Lopes in scoring for the second consecutive game after netting 15 at Rice.
Laramie, Laura Marcos-Canedo, Jessica Gajewski and Zelor Massaquoi are the Lopes that sit atop the leader boards on the squad. Laramie leads the team with15.7 points per game. Marcos-Canedo leads with 5.0 assists per game, while Gajewski leads the squad with 31.3 minutes per game. Massaquoi now leads the team with an average of 8.0 rebounds per contest.
The Lopes will host the GCU Thanksgiving Classic for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
GCU is matching its opponents in turnovers per game with 6.7. The Lopes currently have 49 points off turnovers this season. GCU produced more points off turnovers in its contests against Alcorn State (28) and Rice (12) this year.
The Lopes recorded a team-high 21 rebounds in the first half, which included seven offensive boards in the first quarter against Rice.

Denver Notables
The Pioneers are currently 2-2 on the year with victories over Air Force (65-52) and Cal State Fullerton ( 77-58). They suffered losses to Northern Colorado (68-48) and Wyoming (59-49). Denver is currently averaging 59.8 points per game and 35.8 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Samatha Romanowski currently leads the squad with 12.7 points per game while forward Jordyn Alt leads DU with 6.0 boards per game.

On Friday against Fullerton, the Pioneers put up a 48.4 percent performance from the field. DU grabbed 33 rebounds with 14 offensive boards. Ciera Morgan had a strong outing posting eight assists, five rebounds, four steals with four points. Jacqlyn Poss led the squad with 18 points on the night. With the victory the Pioneers are a perfect 2-0 at home.

The Lopes will meet DU for the second time in program history. The two last faced off on Jan. 7, 1995 when the Pioneers defeated GCU 72-60 in Denver. This will be the first time meeting since GCU has joined the Division I ranks. The Lopes are currently 0-1 against DU in the all-time series.

Idaho Notables
The Vandals are currently 2-1 on the young season. Idaho has picked up victories against Seattle U (83-45) and Cal State Fullerton (88-86) with its lone loss to No. 15 Washington (105-53). The Vandals have totaled 30 turnovers in three games, ranking the third fewest in the NCAA. They also rank third in the nation with 10.0 per contest. Geraldine McCorkell currently leads the team in points per game with an average of 16.0.

Idaho fell to Washington on Tuesday night. Despite putting up a school-record 52 3-point attempts, the Vandals couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. Brooke Reilly led the team with 13 points on the night, hitting a trio of 3-pointers.

GCU and Idaho will meet for the first time since its inaugural season in the Western Athletic Conference in the 2012-13 season. The two faced off as conference foes, before the Vandals transferred conferences in 2014. GCU is currently 0-2 against Idaho in all-times series.

GCU Thanksgiving Classic Notables
The Lopes will host the GCU Thanksgiving Classic for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign and for the first time since joining NCAA Division I action. GCU is undefeated in the tournament through its two seasons as host. In the 2012-13 season GCU picked up wins against Western New Mexico and Fort Lewis. They also went 2-0 during the 2011-12 season as they defeated San Francisco state and Cal State Domiguez Hills at GCU Arena.

Up Next
GCU will return to the road as they travel to UC Riverside for a mid-week contest on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessica Gajewski

Marina Laramie

Laura Marcos-Canedo

Zelor Massaquoi

Grand Canyon University Athletics