Lopes test 4-time champs in 1-point loss

Wednesday, December 17

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

1-10,0-1Mountain West

UNLV

6-5,1-0Mountain West

UNLV

Grand Canyon

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

12/17/2025 10:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU took last-minute lead twice, beat UNLV 40-22 on boards

By: Paul Coro

With a clean canvas for the start of Mountain West play Wednesday night, the Grand Canyon women's basketball team was prepared to paint a picture of a different team than what its record stated.

The Lopes did so, pushing four-time defending conference champion and preseason MW favorite UNLV to the wire before suffering a crushingly close loss that felt too familiar.

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 17, 2025: The Lopes fall 61-60 against UNLV at Global Credit Union Arena.

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 17, 2025: The Lopes fall 61-60 against UNLV at Global Credit Union Arena.

In the women's program's first nationally televised game, GCU opened its Mountain West era with a 61-60 defeat to UNLV after taking the lead twice in the final minute at Global Credit Union Arena.

But like tight crunch-time finishes with UC Santa Barbara, California, UT San Antonio and Gonzaga, the opponent found the winning way. Unlike those games, GCU feels more on the cusp of change after dominating the Lady Rebels on the boards and in bench scoring while greatly reducing its turnover issues.

"I'm thrilled," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "We're getting better. You look at their best players: 9 for 18 (senior guard Jasmyn Lott, 20 points) and 7 for 8 (sophomore power forward Meadow Roland, 14 points). We showed we've got enough in the room. We've got to get everybody on the same page, which we will."

GCU outrebounded UNLV 40-22, the largest margin over the Lady Rebels in two years, and outscored UNLV in bench points 27-5.

"I'm a little bit sad to lose, of course, but I feel we got a new start," said GCU freshman Ines Zounia, who matched her season high of 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench. "We are growing every day. Every game is closer. I feel we have a better energy. It's just 1-0. We're going to work again, and we're going to have this."

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 17, 2025: The Lopes fall 61-60 against UNLV at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

The Lopes led by as many as eight points late in the third quarter and did not trail until 3:05 remained in the game. GCU responded with a possession that included two of the Lopes' 17 offensive rebounds to get senior guard Anisa Jeffries a jumper, which cut the UNLV lead to 57-56 with 2:26 remaining.

GCU (1-10, 0-1 MW) earned three consecutive defensive stops with sophomore guard Chloe Mann taking a charge to start the stretch. It allowed the Lopes to go ahead 58-57 with 55 seconds remaining on freshman power forward Norah Moo's up-and-under post move with a left-handed finish.

In 17 reserve minutes, Moo made 4 of 5 shots to match her season scoring high of eight points.

"It felt like I was back in high school my senior year and just feeling confident when I had the ball and had the ability to go up and finish," said Moo, who graduated from Pinnacle High School in north Phoenix.

UNLV (6-5, 1-0 MW) retook the lead at 59-58 when it threw over a defensive post front for 6-foot graduate power forward Shelbee Brown's score.

But GCU responded well again, with Jeffries driving left from the top of the 3-point arc and drawing the Lopes' second shooting foul of the game. In front of a crowd of 1,104 fans, she sank both free throws for a 60-59 lead with 18.5 seconds to go.

"Anisa, I was so proud of her," Gandy said. "She's grown so much. She'll be the first one to tell you. She was very uneasy early in the season when it came to crunch time. So for her to knock the two free throws down like she did, bigtime."

UNLV went to Roland in the extended post, where she made a turnaround 8-footer for a 62-61 Lady Rebels lead with 12.2 seconds to play.

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 17, 2025: The Lopes fall 61-60 against UNLV at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

GCU advanced the ball to the frontcourt with Jeffries inbounding to sophomore guard Julianna LaMendola, who drove left, got stripped and gathered the ball with seven seconds before passing to a cutting Jeffries, who could not hold onto the ball. It was the Lopes' 15th turnover, 11 fewer than in Sunday's loss to Santa Clara.

"Their best players played well down the stretch," Gandy said. "We got some great looks. I thought we got a little loose with that ball in the fourth quarter, but I'm really proud of the team down the stretch.

"We know what we have to do to win. It'll come down to, 'Will we do it long enough to do that?' But we have enough in the room."

After 23- and 26-turnover games, GCU cut its miscues to 15 with only two being made in the third quarter.

The Lopes' 20-point third quarter on 9-of-17 shooting put them ahead 48-41 entering the fourth quarter. Zounia hit a 3-point shot off graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas' kickout feed to end the third quarter. It also backed up what Gandy called the 5-foot-10 French guard's best week of practice.

In addition to her 10 points, Zounia added three rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal in 14 minutes of action.

"I'm just working on that," Zounia said. "It's the result of my work. I think I just took the opportunities my teammates gave me and my coaches gave me. I didn't really think about my performance. It's more about the team."

Moo opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back scores in the post to keep GCU ahead 52-46 with 8:55 to go.

For the second consecutive game this week, LaMendola matched her career high in assists with five. She also led the Lopes' rebound dominance with a season-high 10 boards, one off her career high.

Only six other teams have outrebounded an opponent by 18 or more this season and lost the game. Wednesday's Mountain West opener marked GCU's third loss by one or two points this season. Six of its last seven losses have come by single digits, with the other being a three-point game earlyin the fourth quarter before Santa Clara pulled away.

GCU shot 51.4% from inside the arc Wednesday night but went 6 for 25 on 3-pointers (25%). The Lopes only shot four free throws, a season low.

"It feels good that we know we can do it," Moo said. "We need to put four quarters together, especially taking care of business in the fourth quarter. In some ways, it feels good to lose by one point to the best team in our conference."

GCU takes a long Christmas break before resuming Mountain West play on Dec. 28 at San José State, who are also 1-10 overall and 0-1 in conference play after losing 83-60 at Wyoming on Wednesday night.