Gandy home debut spoiled by Idaho State

Saturday, November 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

0-2,0-0Mountain West

Idaho State

2-0,0-0Big Sky

Idaho St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jayden Todd

11/8/2025 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

Mann's 19 2nd-half points could not make up for team's 24 turnovers

By: Paul Coro

Good things take time, and that length for Grand Canyon will be more than this team's first 40 minutes at home this season.

GCU played one good half of defense and one good half of offense, but neither was as good as what Idaho State delivered each half to spoil Lopes head coach Winston Gandy's home debut with a 67-55 win at Global Credit Union Arena.

In front of 3,021 fans, GCU had a chance to win a game in which it took 21 fewer shots because of 24 Lopes turnovers and 12 Bengals offensive rebounds. GCU was trailing by two points with three minutes to go in the third quarter, but Idaho State (2-0) made nine of its next 10 shots to pull away.

Winston Gandy

"The part that bothered me is the selfishness," Gandy said. "We saw two different ways of selfishness. Selfishness on offense in the first half, and then we kind of figured it out in the second half, but we went selfish on defense.

"That's the most frustrating thing. That's not a play thing. That's not a scheme thing. That's stuff from within. I've got to do a better job of getting that through."

GCU sophomore guard Chloe Mann scored 19 of her game-high 21 points in the second half.

"I was just trying to do my part," Mann said. "In the first half, we couldn't get much going. I felt like if I gave more energy and they could see my energy, we could turn it around."

But she and fellow Preseason All-Mountain West Team honoree Juliana LaMendola each committed six turnovers to account for half of the Lopes' 24 miscues.

GCU did not have a penchant for any one mistake, losing possessions for ball-handling, passes, offensive fouls and miscommunications.

Ale'jah Douglas

The Lopes still scored more points in the third quarter (20) than the first half (18), but they followed up closing the deficit to 36-34 late in the third quarter with three consecutive turnovers.

When the 9-of-10 shooting stretch gave Idaho State its largest lead at 59-42 with 7:02 remaining, eight of those buckets came on layups.

"We just couldn't get all five together to hold onto that rope," Gandy said. "When you play seasoned teams, you can be susceptible.

"They're not selfish kids, but I know pressure, lights and attention do that to you. I also know that we don't have anybody that was a proven player. Some are coming from not having a role to having a big role, and it's going to take some time."

With no other player besides Mann scoring in double digits, a teammate whose effort popped amid the 12-player rotation was senior reserve guard Karley Johnson.

With her defense disrupting Idaho State, the Lopes outscored the Bengals by eight points in her 17 minutes on the floor. Conversely, the Lopes were outscored by 20 in the 23 minutes without her.

"We have to start hard from the beginning," said Johnson, a part-time starter at Arkansas last season. "We come in there thinking that it was going to be easy, and it wasn't in the end. I think we played down to the other team."

Juliana LaMendola

GCU had not lost a nonconference home since November 2023 when another Big Sky visitor, Montana, won.

These Bengals were led by Tasia Jordan, who scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds because of her ability to elevate.

But Jordan could not beat GCU alone. She did not score over the game's final 12 minutes, but Idaho State diversified its offense to pull away without her.

The Bengals only made 10 free throws and five 3-pointers, but they outscored the Lopes 32-18 in the paint with many of those coming off GCU turnovers.

"When it comes to new teams, live play always isn't going to look like what practice looks like," Mann said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to turn it around."

GCU last led the game at 6-4 and had two chances to take the lead late in the second quarter, when Idaho State instead finished on a 6-0 run that lasted four minutes of three Lopes turnovers, two missed field goals and four missed free throws.

The turnaround to a Tuesday game at Oregon comes quickly for the Lopes (0-2).

"We're going to play another team that's heavy help in the gap," Gandy said. "So if you're not going to be unselfish, it's going to be hard. We showed that when we move the ball, we can score. It's just unfortunate that it was two quarters and not four."
GCU scored 42 second-half points to step up offensively but came undone defensively with Idaho State shooting 53% from the field.

"As the season goes on, we're going to continuing to learn each other and each other's games," Johnson said. "As we continue, it's going to get better. There were big moments in the games when we look like we flow together so well, and the next we might not. It's all about figuring each other out."

The Lopes' next home game will be Nov. 18 against SMU, which is led by former Arizona head coach Adia Barnes.