Rapid recap: GCU 81, Oregon 74 - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Monday, November 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

8 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-0,0-0Mountain West

Oregon

2-1,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Oregon	13	15	21	25	74
Grand Canyon	21	25	11	24	81

Photo by: Josh Cale

11/9/2026 10:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Box Score

Lopes lead by as many as 18 in front of 2,103 home fans

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon recorded one of the program's most impressive wins by leading Oregon wire to wire with defense that held the Ducks to 37.7% from the field and shooting that sank 26 of 29 free throws for an 81-74 victory Monday night at Global Credit Union Arena.

GCU (2-0) handed Oregon, which received preseason top-25 votes, its first loss of the season in front of 2,103 home fans. Lopes players Dasha Biriuk (20 points), T'yana Todd (19) and Nyadieng Yiech (18) combine for 57 points to help the Lopes lead by as many as 18 points in the third quarter. The Ducks are coming off back-to-back visits to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 and had rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Washington State at home Friday.

Key player

Yiech filled up the box score with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, a blocked shot and a steal to follow up another double-double in her Lopes debut Wednesday night against Jackson State.

Yiech, a 6-foot-2 Florida transfer from Calgary, Alberta, scored 10 points in the Lopes' 25-15 second quarter.

Key moment

After the Ducks scored on a putback with 4:35 remaining in the first half, the Lopes did not allow a made field goal for the duration of the second quarter. GCU built a 46-28 halftime lead with five points coming in a final 32-second series of a Biriuk 3-pointer on Yiech's assist, a steal by Todd and two free throws by Todd when she was fouled on the ensuing fastbreak.

Oregon went 0 for 5 from the field with two turnovers over that stretch that included sophomore guard Maya Foz blocking a 3-point attempt.

Key statistic

GCU had a great impact from senior center Jana "Tika" Sallman, who swung the game more than her seven-point, eight-rebound line indicated. The Lopes outscored the Ducks by 23 points during Sallman's 26 minutes on the court Monday night.

Quotable

GCU head coach Winston Gandy: "We've got some special people in that locker room. I thought they hit timely shots and made timely plays. I found myself a few times sitting there, 'Do it yourself.' That's one of the cool things about this team. On different nights, it's going to be different people. We leaned on quite a few people thoughout the game. I was just really proud with Nidi, with Dasha, with T'yana. Chloe's minutes down the stretch were huge. We're not built for just one person to carry us. It's going to be on a few people's shoulders."

What's next?

The Lopes finish their season-opening, three-game homestand with a 6 p.m. Friday game against Gonzaga (2-1) on ESPN Unlimited.

Return to gculopes.com for Paul Coro's full game story with quotes from Gandy and players.