Completed Event: Women's Basketball at San Diego State on January 7, 2026 , Loss , 69, to, 87
W Basketball
at San Diego State
L 69-87
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, December 4
Spokane, Wash.
7 p.m. (MST)
Grand Canyon
1-7,0-0Mountain West
58
at
62
Gonzaga
5-4,0-0WCC
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
11
16
18
13
58
Gonzaga
16
11
18
17
62
GCU narrowly falls in back-and-forth battle at Gonzaga
12/4/2025 10:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mann matches career high with 26 points for Lopes
SPOKANE, Wash. – A pair of 20-plus point scorers, 10 lead changes and 13 ties quickly note Thursday night's intense, back-and-forth battle between Grand Canyon and Gonzaga in front of 4,588 loud fans at McCarthey Athletic Center.
GCU fell 62-58 for its fourth loss by five points or fewer this season.
Lopes sophomore guard Chloe Mann tied a career high with 26 points – also a team best this season – and added three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
"I thought we competed from start to finish," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "The game's about momentum. When you lose it, it's hard. When you're coming in here with another well-coached team, they're normally toward the top of the WCC. I thought we were close, but that's been the story of our season. I'm really proud of the way these guys competed. It's ust disappointing to not come out of here with the win.
"They battled through some adversity. I know we're going to be in the game. That doesn't surprise me. I wish we could get back a couple of those possessions down the stretch. We'll look at the film, we'll learn and we'll continue to get better."
GCU moves to 1-7 and heads home for its next three gamest at Global Credit Union Arena. The Lopes have played twice at home this season and will host Saint Mary's and Santa Clara for the final two nonconference matchups on the next two Sundays.
A low-scoring affair ensued in the early parts of the first quarter, with GCU holding a 6-2 advantage at the under-five-minute mark. Gonzaga's Lauren Whittaker, who came in averaging 19 points and eight rebounds, began to connect from inside the paint and helped the Zags score 14 of its 16 first-quarter points in a five-minute stretch.
GCU had an answer to Whittaker in Mann, who had eight second-quarter points to push her first-half total to 15. Gonzaga led 16-11 after the first, and GCU outscored the Bulldogs 16-11 in the second, for a 27-27 halftime tie.
While Mann led the Lopes in scoring, the effort of her teammates highlighted one of the team's best first-half showings by the purple and white this season. Senior guard Karley Johnson was hit on a layup and dove to her right, putting up a one-handed layup that knocked off the glass and in for a 3-point play. Junior guard Julianna LaMendola grabbed three boards, while senior guard Anisa Jeffries added four points and four steals, contributing to the Zags' 14 turnovers.
"She needs help, and I told her at halftime that we've got to get somebody else going," Gandy said. "That never really manifested."
Neither the Lopes nor the Zags budged. Mann added another seven in the third while Whittaker notched eight, and the two sides who met for just the second time in program history were knotted up at 45 after 30 minutes.
The largest lead since the end of the first quarter was obtained by Gonzaga, who used a 7-0 run to lead 54-47 with six minutes to play. GCU graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas made a pair of free throws and took an opponent turnover the other way for two points to cut the margin to three.
On the inbound, Douglas stole the pass and attempted a 3-pointer but missed. Johnson, who led all Lopes with six rebounds, gathered the ball and flung it out to LaMendola, who found graduate guard Casey Valenti-Paea alone at the opposite wing. Valenti-Paea sank the 3 to complete a 7-0 run and tie the game with 4:40 remaining.
Two more ties occurred over the final four minutes, and the Lopes had a chance to take the lead with seconds to spare, but a corner pocket 3 by Mann was blocked by Gonzaga's Taylor Smith and rebounded by Whittaker.
The Zags sent Ines Bettencourt to the line, who drained both attempts for the four-point win.
Gonzaga was held to 1-of-8 shooting on 3s for its lowest made total of the season and first game making less than four from beyond the arc. Subsequentially, GCU shot 60% from the line (9 of 15), its lowest percentage of the season after shooting 70% or better six times previously.
The Zags committed 22 turnovers, including 15 GCU steals with Jeffries grabbing a team-high five.
"I thought our pressure disrupted them," Gandy said. "When they score 62 points at home, as an opposing team, you're supposed to win that game. I thought our defense did a phenomenal job, which had been letting us down quite frankly probably since we started the season. So I was really, really thrilled. They're a great team, and they've got some go-to players. Their go-to players made plays."
GCU hosts WCC opponent Saint Mary's (6-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
GCU fell 62-58 for its fourth loss by five points or fewer this season.
Lopes sophomore guard Chloe Mann tied a career high with 26 points – also a team best this season – and added three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
"I thought we competed from start to finish," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "The game's about momentum. When you lose it, it's hard. When you're coming in here with another well-coached team, they're normally toward the top of the WCC. I thought we were close, but that's been the story of our season. I'm really proud of the way these guys competed. It's ust disappointing to not come out of here with the win.
"They battled through some adversity. I know we're going to be in the game. That doesn't surprise me. I wish we could get back a couple of those possessions down the stretch. We'll look at the film, we'll learn and we'll continue to get better."
GCU moves to 1-7 and heads home for its next three gamest at Global Credit Union Arena. The Lopes have played twice at home this season and will host Saint Mary's and Santa Clara for the final two nonconference matchups on the next two Sundays.
A low-scoring affair ensued in the early parts of the first quarter, with GCU holding a 6-2 advantage at the under-five-minute mark. Gonzaga's Lauren Whittaker, who came in averaging 19 points and eight rebounds, began to connect from inside the paint and helped the Zags score 14 of its 16 first-quarter points in a five-minute stretch.
GCU had an answer to Whittaker in Mann, who had eight second-quarter points to push her first-half total to 15. Gonzaga led 16-11 after the first, and GCU outscored the Bulldogs 16-11 in the second, for a 27-27 halftime tie.
While Mann led the Lopes in scoring, the effort of her teammates highlighted one of the team's best first-half showings by the purple and white this season. Senior guard Karley Johnson was hit on a layup and dove to her right, putting up a one-handed layup that knocked off the glass and in for a 3-point play. Junior guard Julianna LaMendola grabbed three boards, while senior guard Anisa Jeffries added four points and four steals, contributing to the Zags' 14 turnovers.
"She needs help, and I told her at halftime that we've got to get somebody else going," Gandy said. "That never really manifested."
Neither the Lopes nor the Zags budged. Mann added another seven in the third while Whittaker notched eight, and the two sides who met for just the second time in program history were knotted up at 45 after 30 minutes.
The largest lead since the end of the first quarter was obtained by Gonzaga, who used a 7-0 run to lead 54-47 with six minutes to play. GCU graduate guard Ale'jah Douglas made a pair of free throws and took an opponent turnover the other way for two points to cut the margin to three.
On the inbound, Douglas stole the pass and attempted a 3-pointer but missed. Johnson, who led all Lopes with six rebounds, gathered the ball and flung it out to LaMendola, who found graduate guard Casey Valenti-Paea alone at the opposite wing. Valenti-Paea sank the 3 to complete a 7-0 run and tie the game with 4:40 remaining.
Two more ties occurred over the final four minutes, and the Lopes had a chance to take the lead with seconds to spare, but a corner pocket 3 by Mann was blocked by Gonzaga's Taylor Smith and rebounded by Whittaker.
The Zags sent Ines Bettencourt to the line, who drained both attempts for the four-point win.
Gonzaga was held to 1-of-8 shooting on 3s for its lowest made total of the season and first game making less than four from beyond the arc. Subsequentially, GCU shot 60% from the line (9 of 15), its lowest percentage of the season after shooting 70% or better six times previously.
The Zags committed 22 turnovers, including 15 GCU steals with Jeffries grabbing a team-high five.
"I thought our pressure disrupted them," Gandy said. "When they score 62 points at home, as an opposing team, you're supposed to win that game. I thought our defense did a phenomenal job, which had been letting us down quite frankly probably since we started the season. So I was really, really thrilled. They're a great team, and they've got some go-to players. Their go-to players made plays."
GCU hosts WCC opponent Saint Mary's (6-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Team Stats
GCU
Gonz
FG%
.361
.490
3FG%
.263
.125
FT%
.600
.684
RB
30
37
TO
16
22
STL
15
7
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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