Cal edges GCU in 1st game of Hoopfest Challenge

Monday, November 24

Frisco, Texas

6 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

1-5,0-0Mountain West

California

6-1,0-0ACC

Grand Canyon

California

Photo by: Mario Terrana

11/24/2025 9:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes' Jeffries scores 17; late 4th-quarter rally falls short

By: Nick Macdonald

FRISCO, Texas – Grand Canyon shot 50% in the third quarter and 56% in the fourth quarter Monday, but a late push fell short in a 68-63 loss to California in the Hoopfest Women's Basketball Challenge's opening game at Comerica Center.

GCU senior Anisa Jeffries scored a game- and season-high 17 points while Lopes sophomore guard Chloe Mann added 13 points with a 6-of-6 clip from the charity stripe, bringing her season free throw percentage to 90% to rank second in the Mountain West.

"We started great, but the last four to five minutes, we became undisciplined and they grabbed momentum," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "The way we are built and set up, we've got to be the most disciplined team. And when were not, we find ourselves in holes. One thing I do respect and love about this team is that they are going to keep fighting. We don't go away in any game, but we must play on even ground."

GCU (1-5) began the night on a 6-0 run fueled by back-to-back Jeffries layups, but the outside shot started to fall for the Golden Bears, who knocked down three to lead 17-11 after one quarter.

Down 28-17 in the middle of the second quarter, the Lopes attacked the paint with multiple scorers including a layup from graduate power forward Favor Ayodele layup, an and-1 jumper by graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas jumper and a layup by senior guard Karley Johnson layup to close out the half down six.

GCU scored 46 points in the paint for the evening, tying its season high. Where the outside shot was limited with two made on nine attempts, the inside presence of Jeffries kept the Lopes close.

Momentum swung in the third quarter. Cal jumped to 47-33 advantage with four minutes left in the quarter, countered by a Douglas layup, a Mann deep 3 and back-to-back buckets from Jeffries to reduce the lead to 53-42 to start the fourth.

Making 15 field goals through the first three quarters, GCU caught fire in the fourth, going 10 of 18 (55%) and cutting the deficit to 55-48.

Down 10 with less than three minutes to play, Jeffries once again took control, making a free throw and a pair of layups for the Lopes to trail by five with a minute and a half to go. Timeouts ensued, with each team calling one after a made basket over the final 90 seconds, and the Golden Bears free throws and a made 3 pushed them to a 68-63 final.

GCU shot 78% from the line, the fourth straight game shooting 70% or better from the stripe. Junior guard Julianna LaMendola led the Lopes with seven boards, her third straight game with seven or more boards, while Johnson had nine points, two rebounds and a team-high four steals.

The Lopes conclude the Hoopfest Women's Basketball Challenge at Comerica Center on Wednesday against UTSA. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Phoenix time on FloCollege.