Opening win takes snapshot of Lopes' potential - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Wednesday, November 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-0,0-0Mountain West

Jackson State

0-2,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Jackson St.	13	9	15	18	55
Grand Canyon	20	26	21	10	77

Photo by: Kaily Green

11/4/2026 9:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Yiech's double-double guides GCU to lead Jackson State by as many as 33

By: Paul Coro

In the Grand Canyon season debut, the Lopes could rewind the last eight minutes of first-half basketball and capture it for confidence, filing what gave them that dominance in their heads until they can play that way for even more of a game.

The Lopes busted open Wednesday night's game against Jackson State with a ball-moving, ball-hawking style that outscored the Tigers 23-4 over those eight minutes. It vaulted GCU to a 46-22 halftime lead that became a 33-point, fourth-quarter lead before easing to a 77-55 victory at Global Credit Union Arena.

"I tell them all the time that I'm greedy and I want four quarters," Lopes second-year head coach Winston Gandy said. "It was nice to see a really collective team effort where we had to do it at times with our defense, do it at times with our passing and then sometimes just letting an individual go make a play."
Nidi Yiech

GCU, with 11 newcomers, put four scorers in double figures after three tone-setting quarters, when its lead was 67-37.

Lopes standouts, new and old, did it in the most efficient fashion too. Nyadieng Yiech, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Calgary, Alberta, made her GCU debut with 18 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes.

"I just wanted to play the right way," Yiech said. "When I try to start off like I need to score, it doesn't really translate well. I was just thinking about what the coaches say, setting the tone on defense, taking the right shots and stuff like that."

Yiech dropped 12 of her points in the final 6:39 of the first half, showing her versatility with a series of scores that featured an and-one scoop from the post, a 3-pointer, a GCU huddle

fastbreak reverse finish and drawing two trips to the free throw line, where she went 7 for 7 in the game.

The Florida transfer matched her career high for points and set a career high for rebounds, as she goes from a Gators bench player last season to a Lopes key cog this season.

"It's definitely a big responsibility, but with the type of versatility I have, I just feel I have to step to the role and just play for my team and what they need from me," Yiech said.

"It always feels good to come away with a win, but especially with the way we did it. The way we approached the game, wanting to come out and set the tone and having different people score from different levels and defending, we started off the year right."

Yiech's teammates showed she has plenty of help, such as returning Lopes leading scorer Chloe Mann turning into a bench spark plug. The 5-foot-8 junior guard scored 16 points in 18 minutes, with 13 of the points coming in a 4 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter.

Mann dazzled with three 3-pointers, including a pair from opposite wings on consecutive Ines Zounia assists. She also turned on the turbo for four fastbreak points.

"Chloe was really big for us, making some tough shots off the bench was really, really good," Gandy said. "Any time you get four scorers in double figures, I feel good about that and we didn't even shoot the ball well."

After 48% first-half shooting, the Lopes shot 28% from the field in the second half and used 16 players, including four freshmen. Jana Sallman, a 6-3 senior center who transferred from William & Mary, logged 12 points and five rebounds while sophomore point guard Maya Foz, a Bradley transfer, added 11 points and two assists.

Tika Sallman

Sallman and fellow senior center Ashlynn Chlarson, a 6-3 native of Pima, Arizona, and Arkansas transfer, each punished Jackson State inside when GCU blew open the game with the 23-4, first half-ending run.

"Our teammates did a great job to feed us the ball," said Sallman, who started in the frontcourt with Yiech. "Even when we were doubled, we did a good job on finding each other too."

GCU will step up in competition on Monday night when Oregon, which is receiving AP Top 25 votes, visits for an 8 p.m. game on CBS Sports Network. The Ducks opened the season with an 87-54 home rout of Hawai'i on Monday and will play Washington State at home Friday night.

"They shoot the ball really well, and they have a dynamic point guard and a dynamic big," Gandy said. "We're going to have to be locked in and focused for four quarters. I don't see it a game where you'll be able to let your foot off the gas. That's an area of growth for us going forward.

"When we talk about pushing the program forward and getting ourselves in these types of conversations, you've got to be able to play these teams and play well against them."