Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus San Diego State on February 4, 2026 , Win , 57, to, 44
W Basketball
vs San Diego State
W 57-44
Grand Canyon University Athletics
WAC Preview breaks down women's foes
10/29/2020 11:20:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes conference foes met media to discuss season
GCULopes.com takes a look at Grand Canyon's WAC competition after conference coaches and players met the media this week on the WAC Basketball Preview video conference:
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
CHICAGO STATE
DIXIE STATE
NEW MEXICO STATE
SEATTLE U
TARLETON
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
UTAH VALLEY
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 16-15 (7-9)
- Coach (year): Jarrod Olson (ninth)
- Returning starters: 3
- Media/coaches poll place: 1st/2nd
- Olson: "I don't know why we would be deserving (of being WAC favorite) other than we have a good team and our goal is to win the conference. We lost three starters from last year's team who were pretty key players for us … The preseason stuff in the WAC this year probably means less than it ever has. You got two new teams and a bunch of new coaches. I think it's going to be interesting because I don't think people know each other very well now."
- Sophomore Sydney Palma: "(Her mother, who played basketall at GCU,) definitely cheers for CBU. She's a Lope at heart but she's got to support the daughter. Definitely CBU, but it's a hard choice. You can definitely hear her from the court. She's the biggest supporter for sure."
- Notables: Senior Brittney Thomas returns from a medical redshirt after making the All-WAC first team in 2018-19, but has been limited in practices … Junior Ana Olaeta, the WAC assists leader last season, was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
CHICAGO STATE
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 1-27 (1-13)
- Coach (year): Tiffany Sardin (first)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches poll place: 9th/9th
- Sardin: "It's special to be able to be in this position and to have this opportunity to be a first-time head coach and first-time Division I head coach. I take this position personally, not just being home (in Chicago), but also to give back and serve these young women and also the community. The city and location we're in has so much to offer and it's given me so much. It was only right to come back home, give back and serve and try to change the culture and the image of this program and university as a whole."
- Sophomore Aja Phoumiphat: "Personally, it (the last-place prediction) definitely puts a chip on my shoulder. I know we've been trying to prove ourselves as a school and an organization. As a unit, with newcomers and freshmen, we have a chip on our shoulder. We're definitely going to come out and pack a punch because we're at the bottom and we're here to prove people wrong."
- Notables: Sardin is a member of the Chicago Public Schools Hall of Fame and was an assistant at Illinois-Chicago … The roster has eight newcomers and one senior, Leilani Moncrease, a former Northwestern State player … Phoumiphat started all but one game last season as a freshman point guard.
DIXIE STATE
- 2019-20 record: 18-12
- Coach (year): JD Gustin (fifth)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches poll place: 7th/8th
- Gustin: "It helps that I have a little bit of Divison I experience. If I hadn't spent a little time in the Pac-12 and Big Sky, this jump would make me a lot more nervous. That's no disrespect to the WAC because it's got great coaches and great players. I think I have a decent idea of what we're getting ourselves into. I think the players we have, the strides that we've made from Divison II to now, will still allow us to be competitive and possibly competitive right away."
- Senior Keslee Stevenson: "When I first came in, defense wasn't my strength. I noticed that defense was something I could control. My shot wasn't always following. So how I'd boost my confidence and help my team after a miss was stop my (opponent)."
- Notables: Junior guard London Pavlica is the younger sister of Preston, who was an All-WAC outfielder for GCU. "Sharing that, the WAC and the conference, and being familiar with it is something cool to share," said London, whose coach said she is "as feisty as they come." … BYU will play at Dixie State this season and next season … Dixie State is coming off its first consecutive winning seasons since 2010-11 and 2011-12.
NEW MEXICO STATE
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 12-18 (8-8)
- Coach (year): Brooke Atkinson (fourth)
- Returning starters: 3
- Media/coaches poll place: 4th/4th
- Atkinson: "We can't afford to have a night where we just don't show up. We can't afford to have a play where we just don't play. That's kind of been our biggest focus."
- Sophomore Soufia Inoussa: "(Four-place predictions) motivate us a lot. Just reflecting on last season, we had a tough season but we are really ready to go this time and we're ready to prove everybody wrong and win this season."
- Notables: NMSU returns six of its top seven scorers … Inoussa and teammate Amanda Soderqvist are from Sweden … Asked how she is adjusting to the state limiting practices to groups of five, Atkinson said, "With a smile." … Atkinson said All-WAC first-team pick Aaliyah Prince, who averaged 11.7 points last season, is one of the most athletic players she has coached.
SEATTLE U
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 13-16 (6-9)
- Coach (year): Suzy Barcomb (fifth)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches poll place: 5th/6th
- Barcomb: "I think our transfer Bree (Calhoun) is going to surprise some people – very, very talented guard out of the junior college level (Moorpark) in SoCal. Learning our system as a junior is a little bit difficult but she's got a great basketball IQ and she's picking up our system well. I think people are going to be pleased with her game."
- Junior Courtney Murphy: "It's been really helpful at the beginning with small groups. That was a great way to connect with the freshman and transfers we have. We really jelled as a team. You can really tell on the court how our chemistry has really improved and we're a great team together."
- Notables: Three players from last season's team are playing professionally … Seattle will play at Oregon … Barcomb is the longest-tenured WAC head coach … Seattle ended last season with a WAC Tournament upset of second-seeded Utah Valley.
TARLETON
- 2019-20 record: 21-8
- Coach (year): Misty Wilson (seventh)
- Returning starters: 3
- Media/coaches poll place: 7th/7th
- Wilson: "We're thrilled. There's a lot of buzz around campus and a lot of energy and excitement. Our administration has been great in helping us make this transition. That just allows us to not have that anxiety and nervousness. We get to feel the excitement and continue to work to get to this level."
- Senior Lucy Benson: "We spend so much time together that we're really bonded together as a whole right now. I have so many good friends and deep connections with my teammates so far. We're really connecting right now."
- Notables: Tarleton has three consecutive 20-win seasons … Wilson played at Tarleton and has coached there for 19 years, including seven as head coach … Tarleton reached the Division II NCAA tournament nine times since 2006 and is 127-29 at home since 2009.
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 13-17 (8-8)
- Coach (year): Lane Lord (third)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches poll place: 3rd/5th
- Lord: "What we're seeing that we're really excited about is we have some size. The first two years here, we haven't had a post player really over 6 foot. So having 6-foot-5 Burcu (Soysal), who was in the program last year, a transfer from UMass who sat out due to NCAA rules, gives us a presence in the paint."
- Senior Amara Graham: "Just look at the results. Coach Lord came in and, in his first year, we were in the WAC Championship, one point away from being in the NCAA tournament."
- Notables: Lord signed GCU freshman Katie Scott's older sister, Megan, at Pittsburg State before joining UTRGV. "I'm excited to play against her," Lord said. "I've known Katie and her family for a long time. She'll do a great job at Grand Canyon. Molly's a great coach." … Graham shot 43.9% from 3-point range over the past two seasons … UTRGV open the season at Texas Tech
UTAH VALLEY
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 12-16 (9-6)
- Coach (year): Dan Nielson (second)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches poll place: 2nd/1st
- Nielson: "Last year was a struggle initially but we stayed bought in. I'm really proud of the girls for what they did. I think you saw that success start to happen in conference. Right now, we feel like we're farther than we were at the beginning of conference (last year)."
- Junior Josie Williams: "The coaches do such a good job of setting the tone in practices and in games of just what we want to accomplish. They make the goal clear that we want to be competitive and that we want to be a program, not just in the Utah but in the country, that competes and wins championships. They've done a really good job of setting that tone and that culture for us as players to follow and they've recruited the pieces for us to do it."
- Notables: Last season marked a transition from zone defense to man-to-man defense for the returners … Three transfers joined from BYU, CSU Northridge and Southern Utah … As a sophomore, Maria Carvalho was second in the WAC for assists per game (5.6) in conference play.
Players Mentioned
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