The Grand Canyon women's basketball team released its 2019-20 schedule, announced by head coach
Nicole Powell.
The Lopes return seven letter winners to the
roster, including All-WAC second-team selection
Da'jah Daniel and top playmaker
Laura Piera. They also added seven newcomers, including four freshmen, a junior college transfer and two university transfers.
GCU opens the season by hosting Benedictine on Nov. 5 as part of an 11-game nonconference slate for Powell's third season at the helm. The Lopes, who play their first three games at home over seven days, also will host North Dakota, Southern Utah, Cal State Fullerton, UNLV, UC Santa Barbara and Whittier in GCU Arena, where Powell's teams have gone 15-12 over her first two seasons.
The nonconference road slate features a matchup with California in Berkeley. Last season, the Golden Bears went 20-12 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to eventual national champion Baylor.
When the calendar turns to 2020, the Lopes begin WAC action by hosting CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 4. The 16-game conference schedule will set the stage for the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas on March 11-14.
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