Lopes, Lobos square off Saturday on national TV

Saturday, January 17

Albuquerque, N.M.

2:30 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

New Mexico

Phoenix, AZ Jan. 14, 2026: The Lopes earn a 65-51 win over Nevada at Global Credit Union Arena. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

1/16/2026 11:37:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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Top-4 MW teams play FS1 game at UNM at 2:30 p.m.

By: Nick Macdonald

With two teams at 4-3 in the Mountain West and a chance to solidify at least an outright fourth-place standing in the conference, Grand Canyon heads to The Pit to take on New Mexico in a nationally televised Saturday game. The first-ever game on FS1 for the Lopes women's basketball program will be the second part of a Lopes' doubleheader, airing immediately after the GCU men's home contest vs. No. 23 Utah State.

AT A GLANCE

Saturday's matchup is the second ever meeting between the two schools and the first in regular season play. GCU visited The Pit March 16, 2022 in the first round of the WNIT.
The weekend's contest is also the second nationally televised game for the Lopes this season. GCU's MW opener at home against UNLV was on CBS Sports Network, and Saturday's contest is the first ever for the program on FS1, airing immediately after the men's contest vs. #23 Utah State.
The Lopes have been shooting excellent from the free throw line this season, ranking first in the conference at 76.2%. Six players are shooting 70% or better with at least 15 attempts, while Chloe Mann and Anisa Jeffries are shooting 84-for-95 combined (88%).
Graduate Ale'jah Douglas poured in a career best 20 points Wednesday vs. Nevada, going 7 of 11 from the field. Douglas thrives in the 6th woman role, shooting 45% from the field and averaging 10.7 ppg in games she has entered coming off the bench.
Sophomore Chloe Mann is coming off her second straight seven assist night against Nevada. Mann leads the squad at 13.4 points per game and has dished out 51 assists for the season.
Senior Anisa Jeffries is averaging 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in MW play, with a 17 of 17 clip from the free throw line. She leads the squad with 31 steals and is seventh in the league in steals per game (1.8).
GCU is 3-1 since junior Kaitlyn Elsholz has been in the starting lineup. Elsholz is averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 boards per game since becoming a starter.

THIS GAME

GCU enters Saturday winners of two straight, aiming to make it three in a nationally televised contest on FS1 Saturday afternoon at The Pit.
The Lopes are 2-1 in Mountain West road games this season, whereas New Mexico is 7-2 at its home venue.
Both teams are tied at 4-3 in the MW standings (along with Boise State). A GCU win would put them in fourth place in the standings, holding tiebreakers over the Lobos and Broncos. Teams in the top four of the standings at regular season end earn a first round bye in the MW Championship.

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO

One of four teams at 4-3 in the Mountain West, New Mexico enters Saturday 12-6 overall and 7-2 at The Pit this season.
The Lobos have lost two straight, with one of those games being at home vs. Nevada, who GCU recently defeated 65-51 on Wednesday.
UNM averages 41 rebounds per game, most in the Mountain West and 47th nationally. It's 6.2 rebound margin is first in the league with its 13.9 offensive boards per contest also a conference best,
Emma Najjuma is the team's leading rebounder at 6.3 per game, 114 on the season. Six Lobos have 50+ rebounds on the season, four of which have 70+.
Laila Abdurraqib is one of the best three point shooters in the nation, shooting 45% from deep. Her 3PFG% is 16th nationally, while her 36 made threes rank third best in the MW.
Destinee Hooks is the team's leading scorer at 13.8 ppg. Hooks has 248 points to date, adding 66 rebounds, 19 steals, and 20 assists to her name. Hooks is fourth in the MW in field goal attempts (222).

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU has its first rematch of the season with a road outing at Colorado State Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Fort Collins.
The Lopes then return home for another contest against Boise State Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m.