GCU ready to begin campaign with exhibition Wednesday

Wednesday, October 30

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Benedictine Mesa

10/29/2024 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lopes host Benedictine Mesa at 6 p.m.

By: Nick Macdonald

Wednesday, Oct. 30 \| 6 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	BENEDICTINE MESA REDHAWKS	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES

WATCH: n/a \| STATS: LINK

Grand Canyon begins the first game experience of the season with an exhibition against Benedictine Mesa at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It is the second straight season that the Lopes will open with Benedictine Mesa, which GCU defeated 90-40 last October in Phoenix.

GCU was tabbed first in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, garnering four first-place votes and 59 total points in the nine-member conference. It is the second season in a row that the Lopes were picked to finish first in the preseason poll.
Preseason accolades included senior guard Trinity San Antonio being named WAC Preseason Player of the Year. San Antonio joined Tiarra Brown on the Preseason All-WAC Team, forming the only duo from the same team on the five-player list.

GCU begins its 36th season of collegiate basketball and 11th at the NCAA Division I level.
GCU is coming off a season when it broke the D-I program era for most wins in a season (24) and tied the program record for home wins with 13. The Lopes return seven players from a team that went 24-8 and advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinal for the fourth consecutive season.
Along with preseason headliners Tiarra Brown and Trinity San Antonio, the Lopes return one of the best shooters in the conference in graduate Laura Erikstrup. Erikstrup shot a conference-best 60% from the floor last season, averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game en route to WAC Sixth Woman of the Year honors. GCU led the WAC last season in shooting percentage (44.6%).
The Lopes have a combined 41 seasons played among the 15 players on the roster. Eleven of the 15 are entering a fourth or fifth year of collegiate basketball in 2024-25.
The roster features eight new players, including Alyssa-Durazo Frescas and Nneka Obiazor from UNLV, Bridget Mullings via Utah State, Lucy Ghaifan from Omaha, Kaitlyn Elsholz by way of CSUN and Ale'Jah Douglas via Oklahoma State. Naomi White, from Bellevue West High School in Omaha, Nebraska, enters as a true freshman.

GCU defeated Benedictine Mesa 90-40 a year ago to the day in an exhibition at GCU Arena (now Global Credit Union Arena).
Current Lopes players Anna Ostlie and Tiarra Brown each scored over 20 points, with Ostlie draining eight 3-pointers and finishing with 26 points while Brown poured in 21 points, added five boards and went 7 of 7 from the free throw line.
The Lopes shot 81% from the line and 47% from the field.