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
Photo by: Puerto Rico basketball
Olympics ring true for San Antonio
9/4/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU guard recalls indelible summer trek from tryouts to starting in Paris
Sitting down after Grand Canyon resumed basketball workouts Tuesday, Trinity San Antonio carried a glow emanating from an Olympic summer that could brighten the Lopes' upcoming season.
San Antonio's wondrous whirlwind went from leaving GCU summer workouts to try out for Puerto Rico's Olympic team on a three-nation tour to cruising the River Seine for Opening Ceremonies and starting for Puerto Rico in front of more than 20,000 fans.
Basketball is always cerebral and emotional for a player as good as San Antonio, the Lopes' leading scorer last season. This was spiritual.
"When you fight for your nation, it's a different kind of fight," San Antonio said. "It's an ancestral fight. I could feel my grandparents poke through me to try to get the ball in the hoop."
The Olympic experience that entrenched memories and hardened focus for San Antonio started with a precarious outlook. She made the most of a May invitation to play for the national team in an exhibition game against WNBA champion Las Vegas by leading Puerto Rico in scoring off the bench, even as South Carolina's sold-out arena booed any opponent of favorite daughter A'ja Wilson.
That led to surviving rounds of national team cuts in Puerto Rico, Poland and Spain, a battery of tests for high-pressure situations. The GCU senior guard kept passing and worked her way into the starting lineup for a three-game tournament in Poland.
But she did not know she had made the team until the last cut was made as the team left Spain for France.
"Even back to last season, all those little moments where adversity hit and I had to lean on my own understanding, that's where all this started," San Antonio said. "It's all about effort and attitude. Coaches are going to understand you're a person. You're not perfect. But if you play hard and with your heart and for what's on your chest, that's really what matters."
At 20, San Antonio was the youngest player on her national team and the only GCU student-athlete besides swimmer Maria Brunlehner of Kenya to compete at the Paris Games.
Back in Phoenix, Lopes head coach Molly Miller was watching the Opening Ceremonies at home, hitting pause on her television remote and rewinding so that her daughter, Crosby, could point to San Antonio on the Puerto Rico boat's back railing and her son, Cy, could pose for a photo in front of San Antonio on the screen.
When the first Puerto Rico game tipped off, San Antonio had Miller saying, "That's my girl," when she applied the Lopes' trademark full-court defensive pressure on a Serbian guard.
"It was fun to watch the investment of my family and the GCU family seeing her go through the steps of Opening Ceremonies and the first tip with her starting," Miller said. "She had a major role on both sides of the ball. It was fun to watch her get after it and play some GCU defense. It was well deserved. She worked hard for that opportunity and made the most of it. Hopefully, she can use that experience and maturity within her game to help our team reach our goals."
Puerto Rico was not expected to win in group play, but San Antonio help her team push Serbia in a 58-55 loss and Spain in a 63-62 loss before dropping its final game 80-58 to China in front of 26,595 fans at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. She started and averaged 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals in the two one-possession games and played eight minutes in the lopsided loss.
"The whole arena felt like it was rooting for us," San Antonio said of the opening game against Serbia. "We're Puerto Rico, a small little island. We don't get that much recognition. People were saying we didn't even belong there. To almost win, I was screaming to teammates, "Vamos, let's go!" in the huddle with all the crowd behind us. You don't realize you're fighting for it until you're fighting for it."
San Antonio, whose father and his family are from eastern Puerto Rico, experienced her most memorable moment when she was not even on the court. Puerto Rico took a 62-61 lead on Spain with 10 seconds remaining before losing on two free throws with one second to go.
"You can feel the arena uproaring," San Antonio said of the game's final seconds. "I told my mom that I could literally feel myself elevating. It was crazy. The spirit of Puerto Rico was there."
She also expects the experience to elevate her game for the coming season. The 5-foot-10 guard met megastars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, had an inspiring talk with Serbian standout and NBA player Bogdan Bogdanovic and traded Olympic national pins with tennis star Coco Gauff and others.
She also learned introspection.
"I had the time to go inside myself and lean on myself in those situations when I don't have teammates and the people who I really care about right next to me," San Antonio said. "When you're by yourself, that's when you find out what you're made of."
Within a week of the Olympics ending, San Antonio was back in the GCU Basketball Practice Facility with focus turned back to the Lopes' potential. Her goals: a WAC regular-season title, a WAC Tournament championship and advancing in the postseason. No individual goals.
"Seeing how things are done differently gives her a lot of opportunity to grow and then dive into her last year and make it her best year," Miller said. "You hope you can share those experiences for team success. From those experiences, I hope Trinity can be a better leader, be a better teammate and be a better steward of the school."
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San Antonio's wondrous whirlwind went from leaving GCU summer workouts to try out for Puerto Rico's Olympic team on a three-nation tour to cruising the River Seine for Opening Ceremonies and starting for Puerto Rico in front of more than 20,000 fans.Basketball is always cerebral and emotional for a player as good as San Antonio, the Lopes' leading scorer last season. This was spiritual.
"When you fight for your nation, it's a different kind of fight," San Antonio said. "It's an ancestral fight. I could feel my grandparents poke through me to try to get the ball in the hoop."
The Olympic experience that entrenched memories and hardened focus for San Antonio started with a precarious outlook. She made the most of a May invitation to play for the national team in an exhibition game against WNBA champion Las Vegas by leading Puerto Rico in scoring off the bench, even as South Carolina's sold-out arena booed any opponent of favorite daughter A'ja Wilson.
That led to surviving rounds of national team cuts in Puerto Rico, Poland and Spain, a battery of tests for high-pressure situations. The GCU senior guard kept passing and worked her way into the starting lineup for a three-game tournament in Poland.
But she did not know she had made the team until the last cut was made as the team left Spain for France.
"Even back to last season, all those little moments where adversity hit and I had to lean on my own understanding, that's where all this started," San Antonio said. "It's all about effort and attitude. Coaches are going to understand you're a person. You're not perfect. But if you play hard and with your heart and for what's on your chest, that's really what matters."At 20, San Antonio was the youngest player on her national team and the only GCU student-athlete besides swimmer Maria Brunlehner of Kenya to compete at the Paris Games.
Back in Phoenix, Lopes head coach Molly Miller was watching the Opening Ceremonies at home, hitting pause on her television remote and rewinding so that her daughter, Crosby, could point to San Antonio on the Puerto Rico boat's back railing and her son, Cy, could pose for a photo in front of San Antonio on the screen.
When the first Puerto Rico game tipped off, San Antonio had Miller saying, "That's my girl," when she applied the Lopes' trademark full-court defensive pressure on a Serbian guard.
"It was fun to watch the investment of my family and the GCU family seeing her go through the steps of Opening Ceremonies and the first tip with her starting," Miller said. "She had a major role on both sides of the ball. It was fun to watch her get after it and play some GCU defense. It was well deserved. She worked hard for that opportunity and made the most of it. Hopefully, she can use that experience and maturity within her game to help our team reach our goals."
Puerto Rico was not expected to win in group play, but San Antonio help her team push Serbia in a 58-55 loss and Spain in a 63-62 loss before dropping its final game 80-58 to China in front of 26,595 fans at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. She started and averaged 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals in the two one-possession games and played eight minutes in the lopsided loss.
"The whole arena felt like it was rooting for us," San Antonio said of the opening game against Serbia. "We're Puerto Rico, a small little island. We don't get that much recognition. People were saying we didn't even belong there. To almost win, I was screaming to teammates, "Vamos, let's go!" in the huddle with all the crowd behind us. You don't realize you're fighting for it until you're fighting for it."
San Antonio, whose father and his family are from eastern Puerto Rico, experienced her most memorable moment when she was not even on the court. Puerto Rico took a 62-61 lead on Spain with 10 seconds remaining before losing on two free throws with one second to go.
"You can feel the arena uproaring," San Antonio said of the game's final seconds. "I told my mom that I could literally feel myself elevating. It was crazy. The spirit of Puerto Rico was there."
She also expects the experience to elevate her game for the coming season. The 5-foot-10 guard met megastars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, had an inspiring talk with Serbian standout and NBA player Bogdan Bogdanovic and traded Olympic national pins with tennis star Coco Gauff and others.She also learned introspection.
"I had the time to go inside myself and lean on myself in those situations when I don't have teammates and the people who I really care about right next to me," San Antonio said. "When you're by yourself, that's when you find out what you're made of."
Within a week of the Olympics ending, San Antonio was back in the GCU Basketball Practice Facility with focus turned back to the Lopes' potential. Her goals: a WAC regular-season title, a WAC Tournament championship and advancing in the postseason. No individual goals.
"Seeing how things are done differently gives her a lot of opportunity to grow and then dive into her last year and make it her best year," Miller said. "You hope you can share those experiences for team success. From those experiences, I hope Trinity can be a better leader, be a better teammate and be a better steward of the school."
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Players Mentioned
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