1st Mountain West road game set at San José State

Sunday, December 28

San Jose, Calif.

3 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

San José State

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

12/27/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch Live Stats Listen GCU Notes

Lopes face Spartans in 1st-ever MW away contest for GCU

By: Nick Macdonald

After 10 days since last playing, Grand Canyon returns to action Sunday for its first-ever Mountain West road contest in San Jose, California, against San José State. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Mountain West Network.

AT A GLANCE

GCU sophomore guard Chloe Mann is the team leader in points at 15.3 per game, totaling double digits in nine of the Lopes' 11 contests. Mann has been exceptional from the free throw line, shooting 88% (44 of 50). Her free throw percentage ranks 28th in the nation and leads all Mountain West players.
Lopes freshman Ines Zounia claimed the team's second Mountain West weekly award of the season on Dec. 21, earning MW Freshman of the Week. Against UNLV, the France native totaled 10 points, three boards, two assists, one steal and a block in 14 minutes off the bench. She is the second Lope to earn MW Freshman of the Week this season, joining Norah Moo.
GCU junior Julianna LaMendola has dished out 10 assists over her last two contests, five each against Santa Clara and UNLV. LaMendola is the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game and is coming off a season-best 10 rebounds vs. UNLV on Dec. 17. Over her past three games, LaMendola is averaging 4.6 points, 7.3 steals, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
GCU has 121 offensive boards this season, 30 more than its opponents. Graduate power forward Favor Ayodele pulled down eight offensive rebounds (nine total rebounds) against UNLV, aiding GCU's 17-offensive board effort, the second most in a game this season. The Lopes have tallied eight games with double-digit offensive rebounding totals.
The squad finished nonconference play on Dec. 14 against Santa Clara, rounding out the toughest nonconference schedule in program history. As of NET rankings on Dec. 23, GCU's nonconference schedule includes two Quad 1, three Quad 2s and a Quad 3 opponent. GCU owns the 20th-toughest schedule in the nation and the toughest in the conference, with the MW's second toughest ranking 109th.
The Lopes average 25 points off the bench, ranking 74th in the nation and first in the Mountain West.

THIS GAME

Grand Canyon goes on the road for the first time in Mountain West play, facing San José State on Sunday.
The meeting between the Lopes and Spartans is the first in program history.
Both teams fell in their conference openers, with GCU narrowly falling to defending regular-season champion UNLV.

SCOUTING SAN JOSÉ STATE

San José State enters 2-10 overall and 0-1 in MW play. The game is the first for the team since a nonconference matchup against Sacramento State on Dec. 21.
The Spartans rank first in the conference with 4.6 blocks per game. Gabriela Pato leads the squad with 20 blocks and also leads it in offensive rebounds with 21.
San José State's 38 rebounds per game ranks second best in the conference. Five Spartans have more than 40 rebounds on the season, led by Maya Anderson with 71.
Anderson is the team's leading scorer at 12.7 points per game and is coming off a career-high 29-point outing against Sacramento State.
The Spartans have 291 attempts from 3-point range this season, ranking third in the MW with more than 24 attempts per game.
Former Lopes guard McKenna Simons plays for the Spartans. Simons played three seasons for GCU from 2021-24, including a redshirt year in 2021-22.