Lopes make connection to win with clutch 4th quarter

Saturday, January 10

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

4-12,3-3Mountain West

Fresno State

8-9,2-4Mountain West

Fresno St.

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Brayden Stenner/GCU

1/10/2026 5:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score Photo Gallery

GCU shoots season-best 48% from field, makes 10 3-pointers

By: Paul Coro

The WiFi symbol in the Grand Canyon women's basketball locker room is not for streaming shows or getting online for homework.

The drawn icon on the GCU locker room board symbolizes a key word for the Lopes – connectivity.

Phoenix, AZ - January 10, 2026, GCU Women's Basketball debuts their Lavender Jerseys and earn a 71-64 win against Fresno State at Global Credit Union Arena. (Photo by Brayden Stenner/GCU).

When they have that at both ends of the floor, they thrive like they did in Saturday's 20-11 fourth quarter that decided the Lopes' 71-64 win against Fresno State at Global Credit Union Arena.

The Lopes, debuting a lavender jersey, moved into a fifth-place tie at 3-3 in the Mountain West with Boise State and Nevada after going 1-9 during a rigorous nonconference schedule.

"When we're connected on offense and defense, we're pretty good," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "I was really happy with finding ways to win."

The Lopes connected for season-best percentages from the field (48.1%) and from beyond the arc (55.6%) while holding the Bulldogs, No. 2 in the MW for 3-point shooting, without a made 3 for the first time since March 2017. They were 18 of 38 from 3-point range in the previous two games.

Fresno State (8-9, 2-4 MW) still led 53-51 entering the fourth quarter, but GCU shot 54% from the field in the final stanza while holding the Bulldogs to 29%.

"Our preseason really prepared us," said Lopes junior guard Julianna LaMendola, who tallied 11 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. "Maybe our record doesn't show it, but we played some of the best teams in the country. Going through that adversity has really prepared us for the inflection points in games, where we really need a stop or where we really need to score. We're tried and true. It's starting show. That's just a testament to our hard work and Coach's work. We just continue to grind."

GCU opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from senior guard Ale'jah Douglas that put it ahead 54-53 and never relinquished the lead. Douglas had just put GCU ahead in the third quarter with a key sequence of a follow score, a steal and a drawn foul on a breakaway.

But after leaving the game when her head hit floor on the foul, Douglas returned to start the fourth quarter with a 3, a blocked shot on a Bulldogs 3 and an assist for junior guard Sifa Joyeuse's 3 to put GCU ahead 59-53 with 7:40 to go.

"Going into halftime, I knew I was slacking a little bit," said Douglas, who scored 10 points to lead GCU's 27-10 advantage in bench scoring. "I needed to pick it up. That's kind of what my team expects from me. I just had to pick it up and bring the energy."

When Fresno State made its final push with cutting GCU's lead to 63-60 with 4:49 to go, freshman guard Diamond Wright set up a 3-pointer by senior guard Karley Johnson. It was one of 18 Lopes assists, one shy of a season high. It was one example of GCU players recognizing when Fresno State switched its defense to a zone.

"Sometimes, you lose control as a coach," Gandy said. "You just need one person on the floor to see it. They did a great job of recognizing it. It's really cool to see that connectivity."

Johnson was a plus-19 in her 24 minutes with only one of GCU's 22 turnovers against Fresno State's relentless ways. The Lopes also forced 23 turnovers, three of which came on Johnson taking charges.

Douglas made two steals, and sophomore guard Chose Mann and senior guard Anisa Jeffries defended well to stay on the floor for 34 minutes each.

Jeffries led GCU with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting with six points coming in the decisive fourth quarter on her spin moves in the paint.

The Lopes are now 4-1 when scoring more than 70 points this season.

"For me, 70 is the magical number," Gandy said. "If we get to 70, I like our odds. You only get to 70 if you're sharing the ball. They need each other, and they did a good job of that."

GCU gets a chance to break another fifth-place conference tie on Wednesday night, when Nevada (7-9, 3-3 MW) visits Global Credit Union Arena. The paint-predicated Wolf Pack recorded its third consecutive win Saturday with a 70-61 win at New Mexico.

The Lopes are looking to record consecutive wins for the first time this season.

:I didn't give them a lot of opportunities to get a win and then do what you need to do to get another win," Gandy said because of GCU's schedule, ranked as the 20th-most difficult in the nation. "I'm hoping that we've had enough experience of winning and then dropping the next one that we can find the spark a little faster and address the level of intensity and sense of urgency that we need to win."