Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Gonzaga on December 4, 2025 , Loss , 58, to, 62
W Basketball
at Gonzaga
L 58-62
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, December 31
Phoenix, Ariz.
11 a.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
vs
Colorado State
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Schedule, performance flip for MW action
12/30/2025 11:51:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
LaMendola career game reflects Lopes' development from challenging slate
On this voyage of a new Grand Canyon women's basketball era, the trials of one of the nation's toughest nonconference schedules acted as portals of discovery.
GCU first-year head coach Winston Gandy foretold this, long before GCU began its first Mountain West season with a one-point loss to four-time defending champion UNLV and a 20-point win at San José State.
"It's only going to make us better as players, as a program and for me as a coach," Gandy said of the nonconference schedule in August. "It's not about how you start the finish. It's how you finish it. This will help us have the type of end of the season that we all want."
Several unfortunate close calls left the Lopes tested by a 1-9 mark after its nonconference schedule, which is rated as the nation's 23rd most difficult. It also is why GCU's MW start gives it the conference's fifth-best NET rating and puts it in the top half of the nation despite a 2-10 overall mark.
Rankings and ratings aside, the court shows the improvement as a unit and as individuals entering Wednesday's 11 a.m. conference game against Colorado State (11-2, 2-0 MW) at Global Credit Union Arena.
In Sunday's 79-59 win at San José State, GCU posted its season scoring high and opponent scoring low. The defense held the Spartans to 28.8% shooting, the program's lowest opponent clip since the 2023-24 season.
"When we stay connected and play the right type of basketball, we're a very capable team," said Lopes junior Julianna LaMendola, who is playing every position for GCU this season. "The best thing we can take away is to play connected because we'll see a completely different team with Colorado State. But if we remain the same, we'll be OK."
LaMendola has contributed to the Lopes across the board, but breaking out of a 7-for-33 shooting drought over four games put GCU in its most dangerous look Sunday. She made 10 of 14 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game as she steps up to a featured role, which has nearly tripled her minutes (28 per game this season) and defensive attentions from what she played at Indiana (10 per game over two seasons).
The 6-foot-1 Coppell, Texas, native broke her career scoring high for the fourth time this season with 25 points, one game after tying her career assist high of five against UNLV.
"That may have been on Santa's Christmas list during the break," Gandy said. "I'm really happy with the poise and patience she played with."
And while sophomore guard Chloe Mann consistently has carried the GCU's scoring load, Mann did not need to score for the first quarter and a half for the Lopes to be competitive Sunday.
When she did, GCU rolled. Mann's back-to-back 3s sparked a 12-0 roll that paired with 3s from freshman Ines Zounia and graduate Casey Valenti-Paea. When Mann hit another, the Lopes had scored 15 points in a three-minute span to take command.
In her first start, Zounia continued to emerge with a season-high 13 points and consecutive double-digit scoring games. She took advantage of the high pocket in the Spartans' zone defense and was aggressive from the tip, attacking in transition on her first touch.
"Ines, in her first start, getting to double figures with relative efficiency was huge," Gandy said.
The France native also was effective in one-on-one defense, even causing a shot clock violation almost individually with her pressure.
Overall, GCU's defensive intensity produced 14 steals, one off a season high, and a 20-plus turnover games for the fifth time in the past seven games. Opponents have scored 62 or fewer points in four of the past five games.
The Lopes opened with a small-ball lineup that put LaMendola at center but quickly turned to 6-foot-4 Faith Carson, who delivered her best output with seven points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
"I hope they saw we've got enough in the room," Gandy said. "You don't know when your number is going to be called."
GCU is one final possession against UNLV away from a 2-0 Mountain West start. But at 1-1 in conference play, the position of a climb is familiar. The Lopes forged determination through the adversity and now face more ahead in the Mountain West, starting with Colorado State's national top-10 defense on Wednesday.
GCU first-year head coach Winston Gandy foretold this, long before GCU began its first Mountain West season with a one-point loss to four-time defending champion UNLV and a 20-point win at San José State.
"It's only going to make us better as players, as a program and for me as a coach," Gandy said of the nonconference schedule in August. "It's not about how you start the finish. It's how you finish it. This will help us have the type of end of the season that we all want."Several unfortunate close calls left the Lopes tested by a 1-9 mark after its nonconference schedule, which is rated as the nation's 23rd most difficult. It also is why GCU's MW start gives it the conference's fifth-best NET rating and puts it in the top half of the nation despite a 2-10 overall mark.
Rankings and ratings aside, the court shows the improvement as a unit and as individuals entering Wednesday's 11 a.m. conference game against Colorado State (11-2, 2-0 MW) at Global Credit Union Arena.
In Sunday's 79-59 win at San José State, GCU posted its season scoring high and opponent scoring low. The defense held the Spartans to 28.8% shooting, the program's lowest opponent clip since the 2023-24 season.
"When we stay connected and play the right type of basketball, we're a very capable team," said Lopes junior Julianna LaMendola, who is playing every position for GCU this season. "The best thing we can take away is to play connected because we'll see a completely different team with Colorado State. But if we remain the same, we'll be OK."
LaMendola has contributed to the Lopes across the board, but breaking out of a 7-for-33 shooting drought over four games put GCU in its most dangerous look Sunday. She made 10 of 14 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game as she steps up to a featured role, which has nearly tripled her minutes (28 per game this season) and defensive attentions from what she played at Indiana (10 per game over two seasons).
The 6-foot-1 Coppell, Texas, native broke her career scoring high for the fourth time this season with 25 points, one game after tying her career assist high of five against UNLV.
"That may have been on Santa's Christmas list during the break," Gandy said. "I'm really happy with the poise and patience she played with."
And while sophomore guard Chloe Mann consistently has carried the GCU's scoring load, Mann did not need to score for the first quarter and a half for the Lopes to be competitive Sunday.
When she did, GCU rolled. Mann's back-to-back 3s sparked a 12-0 roll that paired with 3s from freshman Ines Zounia and graduate Casey Valenti-Paea. When Mann hit another, the Lopes had scored 15 points in a three-minute span to take command.
In her first start, Zounia continued to emerge with a season-high 13 points and consecutive double-digit scoring games. She took advantage of the high pocket in the Spartans' zone defense and was aggressive from the tip, attacking in transition on her first touch."Ines, in her first start, getting to double figures with relative efficiency was huge," Gandy said.
The France native also was effective in one-on-one defense, even causing a shot clock violation almost individually with her pressure.
Overall, GCU's defensive intensity produced 14 steals, one off a season high, and a 20-plus turnover games for the fifth time in the past seven games. Opponents have scored 62 or fewer points in four of the past five games.
The Lopes opened with a small-ball lineup that put LaMendola at center but quickly turned to 6-foot-4 Faith Carson, who delivered her best output with seven points and five rebounds in 11 minutes.
"I hope they saw we've got enough in the room," Gandy said. "You don't know when your number is going to be called."
GCU is one final possession against UNLV away from a 2-0 Mountain West start. But at 1-1 in conference play, the position of a climb is familiar. The Lopes forged determination through the adversity and now face more ahead in the Mountain West, starting with Colorado State's national top-10 defense on Wednesday.
Players Mentioned
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