Coming off bye, Lopes head to UNLV

With a week between games, Grand Canyon is back in action Saturday against UNLV at The Pavilion for a rematch of the Mountain West season opener that ended in a narrow 61-60 defeat in mid-December.

AT A GLANCE

With six games remaining in regular season play, GCU heads to the city of the Mountain West Championship in early March, taking on UNLV in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon,
Lopes junior Julianna LaMendola is coming off a career-high 26 points against Air Force, her third game of 20 points or more this season and second in conference play. She added seven rebounds and tied a career-best three blocked shots and is averaging a team-best 12.9 points per game against MW teams.
The Lopes are averaging nearly five more rebounds per game against their opposition in MW play, grabbing 37.6 per contest. They have pulled down 40 or more rebounds seven times this season, six times in conference action, and are 5-2 in such games.
GCU's free throw percentage ranks top 50 in the nation and the best in the Mountain West. It is shooting 76% from the line with three players shooting 80% or better with at least 30 attempts. Sophomore guard Chloe Mann is second in the Mountain West at 86.3% with 88 makes out of 102 attempts.
The Lopes' defense has held opponents to 55.5 points per game over the past four games, including a pair of sub-50 scoring performances. In that span, they have totaled 34 steals and 16 blocks and have forced 59 turnovers.
Freshman power forward Norah Moo has been active on the glass as of late, grabbing six rebounds in each of her last three games. Moo is tied for the fourth-most rebounds this season.

THIS GAME

Coming off a bye, GCU returns to the court Saturday at The Pavilion for a 3 p.m. tipoff (Phoenix time) against UNLV.
The game is a rematch of the conference opener in mid-December, when UNLV won 61-60.
The Lopes sit in sixth place out of 12 teams in the MW regular-season standings, where they are one game back of New Mexico (one win, one to play) and Colorado State (two losses).

SCOUTING UNLV

Entering the weekend second in the Mountain West, UNLV is 16-8 overall and 11-3 in MW play. The Lady Rebels hold a 9-3 record at home this season.
UNLV has won three of its last five games, coming off an 82-72 loss at home Wednesday vs. Wyoming.
The Lady Rebels are one of the most disciplined teams in the nation when it comes to fouling, averaging only 12.4 fouls per game, sixth fewest in the nation. They also average 13.8 turnovers per game, third lowest in the league.
Meadow Roland is the conference leader in blocks per game (1.57). Roland and teammate Shelbee Brown are 26th and 27th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.2).
Roland is also the Mountain West leader in double-doubles (9).
UNLV has 110 more rebounds than its opposition, including 89 on the defensive end.
Meadow is the team leader in points per game (13.9), with Jasmyn Lott just behind her at 13.0.
UNLV has four players with 20 or more made threes this season. As a unit, the team is averaging 34.1% from beyond the arc.

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU returns to Global Credit Union Arena for two straight, beginning Wednesday vs. New Mexico.
The two home games next week are two of the last three at home this season. The Lopes' regular-season home finale is Saturday, Feb. 28, vs. San José State.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

AT A GLANCE

THIS GAME

SCOUTING UNLV

WHAT'S NEXT?

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Players Mentioned

Julianna LaMendola

Chloe Mann

Norah Moo

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