GCU never trails, takes down Fresno State by 15

Wednesday, February 25

Fresno, Calif.

7:30 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

11-17,10-8Mountain West

Fresno State

14-15,8-10Mountain West

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Grand Canyon	19	13	9	16	57
Fresno St.	12	5	19	6	42

2/26/2026 12:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Defense forces 19 turnovers; Lopes claim no lower than MW No. 6 seed

By: Nick Macdonald

FRESNO, Calif. – Once the first basket fell through the hoop for Grand Canyon, the lead never swayed the other way as the Lopes defeated Fresno State 57-42 at Smart Mart Center on Wednesday evening.

News and notes

Sophomore Chloe Mann led GCU with 15 points, going 6 of 8 from the free throw line. The point guard added three assists, four rebounds and two blocks, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the second half.
Senior forward Anisa Jeffries claimed the Lopes' fourth double-double of the season, scoring 10 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. She also added three steals, improving her top-six ranking for steals per game in the Mountain West.
GCU grabbed 44 rebounds, its third most in a game this season.
With the victory, the Lopes have claimed no lower than the No. 6 seed in the Mountain West Championship. GCU could claim the No. 5 seed with two wins and two New Mexico losses, with the tiebreaker being the Lopes' head-to-head victory over top seeded San Diego State.

"Our players did a great job competing from start to finish, when the offense was going, when the offense wasn't going, when we had a rhythm, when we didn't have a rhythm," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "A number of people stepped up. Obviously, Anisa with the 10 boards getting a double-double was huge for us. Chloe made some bigtime baskets down the stretch. I thought Ines (Zounia) probably had the quietest, most efficient night."

On a night when both teams shot less than 40% from the floor, the Lopes' first quarter was the momentum starter with 19 points and a 58% field goal percentage. All eight Lopes who scored in the victory got on the board in the first quarter, with the other side of the ball holding Fresno State (14-15, 8-10 MW) to just 3 of 15 from the floor.

The defense had arguably its best quarter of the night in the second, holding the Bulldogs to shoot 2 for 14 (14.3%), including 0 of 4 from 3-point range, and five total points. GCU led 32-17 at the half.

The lead was cut to 36-30 by a Fresno State 13-4 run to open the third. But bigtime playmaking is second nature to Mann, who sank two free throws and hit a corner pocket 3 to push the lead back to 41-32.

Again, the Bulldogs made a run at the lead, getting within two points with 8:15 play. In a time where the offense needed to click and the defense needed to tighten, the Lopes accomplished both sides of the coin.

Fresno State scored just two points over the final eight minutes, while GCU notched 15 more by the hands of four Lopes.

"I didn't force anything," said GCU freshman Ines Zounia, who tallied 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds. "I just try to take what my teammates gave me and be aggressive because that's what I can give to the team. I didn't try to score. I got open looks, and I tried to take advantage."

GCU finished the final frame 6 of 8 from the line, totaling a 70% clip to hit that number or better for the 23rd time this season. GCU entered the night as the conference's best free throw shooting team.

The defense held Fresno State to a season opponent low of 42 points, breaking the previous high from Saturday's game vs. Utah State by one point. The 85 points allowed in back-to-back games is a season low for consecutive games.

"They've played hard and competed," Gandy said. "We know we've had some highs, and we've had some lows. But it's really nice to come in against a well-coached team, a quality team, a team that's been playing well. I'm really happy for us to get a quality road win because we've been lacking in that department."

The Lopes return home for one final regular-season contest at Global Credit Union Arena on Saturday against San José State. GCU will honor its five senior players and two senior managers prior to tipoff at 12:55 p.m.

"Our seniors have held onto the rope, and we wouldn't be where we are without them," Gandy said. "My hope is we can send them off in the best way possible."