Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Saint Mary's on December 7, 2025 , Loss , 54, to, 62
W Basketball
vs Saint Mary's
L 54-62
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wednesday, December 31
Phoenix, Ariz.
11 a.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
2-11,1-2Mountain West
47
vs
61
Colorado State
12-2,3-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
11
17
21
12
61
Grand Canyon
7
15
8
17
47
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Ram-tough defense pulls CSU away at GCU
12/31/2025 12:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Grand Canyon causes Colorado State to make season-high 14 turnovers
In a season-long gauntlet of difficult opponents, Grand Canyon faced its stingiest defense yet Wednesday and learned how difficult it is to score on Colorado State, which ranks 10th nationally for least points allowed.
But after leading the nation in fewest turnovers for four seasons, the Rams found out what the Lopes defense can do too, holding them to 38% shooting and prompting a season-high 14 turnovers Wednesday.
The difference, as it often is with Colorado State, was a third quarter in which GCU was outscored by 13 points in a 61-47 New Year's Eve loss at Global Credit Union Arena.
The Lopes opened Mountain West play promisingly with a one-point loss to four-time defending champion UNLV, a 20-point win at San José State and a close first half Wednesday when GCU's defense made Colorado State grind for a 28-22 lead.
That turned into a 19-point gap after the third quarter, when the Rams (12-2, 3-0 MW) continued their season-long trend of outscoring opponents by an average of seven points per third quarter. Holding GCU (2-10, 1-2 MW) to 2-of-12 shooting with four turnovers, Colorado State used the 21-8 third quarter to pull away for its 12th consecutive road win – the nation's second-longest active road winning streak.
"When you have five assists, you're not going to win many games, if any," Lopes head coach Winston Gandy said of GCU's lowest single-game assist total since January 2022. "Credit to them. I thought we let a few missed shots discourage us from taking what I thought were going to be good shots for us. Ball movement told the story.
"Defensively, we allowed far too much middle. But 61 points (allowed). Some of it was just a lot of hustle. The 50-50 balls went their way. Extra 'o' (offensive) boards went their way. In an afternoon or morning when you didn't shoot well, what else did you do well?"
GCU guards Anisa Jeffries and Chloe Mann each scored a team-high 10 points, but the Lopes were held to 28.8% shooting from the field for their lowest clip since a season-opening loss at No. 3 South Carolina. Colorado State entered Wednesday ranked 18th nationally for opponent field goal percentage at 33.9%.
The Lopes trailed 31-26 after junior Julianna LaMendola's second-chance score with eight minutes to go in the third quarter, but a decisive Colorado State 15-2 run then blew the game open in fewer than five minutes.
"I thought they were the more connected group defensively," Gandy said. "We defended really hard, but when you're taking bad shots, that leads to transition on the other end. They're a very disciplined team."
GCU's defense disrupted Colorado State more than any Rams opponent this season. Colorado State entered with a turnover average of 9.9 per game, third in the nation, and committed five in the game's first five minutes when Jeffries made the first of her four steals.
That allowed to lead 3-2 when it had not scored until senior guard Karley Johnson made a 3-pointer with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. GCU last led seven minutes into the game, but LaMendola still made it tight when she knocked down a baseline jumper at the halftime buzzer to reduce Colorado State's lead to 28-22.
Perimeter shooting deserted the Lopes in the second half, when they were 0 for 9 on 3-pointers and did not score outside the paint.
"We've just got to put together four quarters," GCU graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas said. "The game doesn't stop at halftime. We've got to keep the same momentum we had in the first half into the second half. We've just got to build on it and execute on the offensive end."
Colorado State 5-foot-9 senior guard Lexus Bargesser, a former Indiana teammate of LaMendola's, posted 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Rams outscored the Lopes by 20 in her 31 minutes of playing time.
"I think everybody on the floor, they competed," Gandy said. "Competing is the general basis to get into a game when you're playing good teams. You've got to play with discipline. You've got to play with an IQ. You've got to play with an ability to follow scheme and stay connected as a group. We just didn't do that at a high enough level."
After the next two games, the Lopes will have faced the Mountain West preseason poll's top four teams in their first five conference games. GCU plays next Saturday at Boise State and then stays on the road for a Wednesday game at San Diego State.
"I know we have our hands full for these first five games," Gandy said.
But after leading the nation in fewest turnovers for four seasons, the Rams found out what the Lopes defense can do too, holding them to 38% shooting and prompting a season-high 14 turnovers Wednesday.
The difference, as it often is with Colorado State, was a third quarter in which GCU was outscored by 13 points in a 61-47 New Year's Eve loss at Global Credit Union Arena.
The Lopes opened Mountain West play promisingly with a one-point loss to four-time defending champion UNLV, a 20-point win at San José State and a close first half Wednesday when GCU's defense made Colorado State grind for a 28-22 lead.That turned into a 19-point gap after the third quarter, when the Rams (12-2, 3-0 MW) continued their season-long trend of outscoring opponents by an average of seven points per third quarter. Holding GCU (2-10, 1-2 MW) to 2-of-12 shooting with four turnovers, Colorado State used the 21-8 third quarter to pull away for its 12th consecutive road win – the nation's second-longest active road winning streak.
"When you have five assists, you're not going to win many games, if any," Lopes head coach Winston Gandy said of GCU's lowest single-game assist total since January 2022. "Credit to them. I thought we let a few missed shots discourage us from taking what I thought were going to be good shots for us. Ball movement told the story.
"Defensively, we allowed far too much middle. But 61 points (allowed). Some of it was just a lot of hustle. The 50-50 balls went their way. Extra 'o' (offensive) boards went their way. In an afternoon or morning when you didn't shoot well, what else did you do well?"
GCU guards Anisa Jeffries and Chloe Mann each scored a team-high 10 points, but the Lopes were held to 28.8% shooting from the field for their lowest clip since a season-opening loss at No. 3 South Carolina. Colorado State entered Wednesday ranked 18th nationally for opponent field goal percentage at 33.9%.
The Lopes trailed 31-26 after junior Julianna LaMendola's second-chance score with eight minutes to go in the third quarter, but a decisive Colorado State 15-2 run then blew the game open in fewer than five minutes.
"I thought they were the more connected group defensively," Gandy said. "We defended really hard, but when you're taking bad shots, that leads to transition on the other end. They're a very disciplined team."
GCU's defense disrupted Colorado State more than any Rams opponent this season. Colorado State entered with a turnover average of 9.9 per game, third in the nation, and committed five in the game's first five minutes when Jeffries made the first of her four steals.That allowed to lead 3-2 when it had not scored until senior guard Karley Johnson made a 3-pointer with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. GCU last led seven minutes into the game, but LaMendola still made it tight when she knocked down a baseline jumper at the halftime buzzer to reduce Colorado State's lead to 28-22.
Perimeter shooting deserted the Lopes in the second half, when they were 0 for 9 on 3-pointers and did not score outside the paint.
"We've just got to put together four quarters," GCU graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas said. "The game doesn't stop at halftime. We've got to keep the same momentum we had in the first half into the second half. We've just got to build on it and execute on the offensive end."
Colorado State 5-foot-9 senior guard Lexus Bargesser, a former Indiana teammate of LaMendola's, posted 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Rams outscored the Lopes by 20 in her 31 minutes of playing time.
"I think everybody on the floor, they competed," Gandy said. "Competing is the general basis to get into a game when you're playing good teams. You've got to play with discipline. You've got to play with an IQ. You've got to play with an ability to follow scheme and stay connected as a group. We just didn't do that at a high enough level."
After the next two games, the Lopes will have faced the Mountain West preseason poll's top four teams in their first five conference games. GCU plays next Saturday at Boise State and then stays on the road for a Wednesday game at San Diego State.
"I know we have our hands full for these first five games," Gandy said.
Team Stats
CSU
GCU
FG%
.377
.288
3FG%
.313
.100
FT%
.833
.938
RB
40
33
TO
14
16
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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