Lopes drop regular-season finale in Laramie

Tuesday, March 3

Laramie, Wyo.

5 p.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

12-18,11-9Mountain West

Wyoming

10-19,7-13Mountain West

Grand Canyon

Wyoming

3/3/2026 10:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Mann, Zounia combine for 34; GCU holds 6th seed for MW tourney

By: Nick Macdonald

LARAMIE, Wyo. – In the final game of the regular season for Wyoming and Grand Canyon, it was the Cowgirls who prevailed after a last-second 3-point attempt from Lopes sophomore Chloe Mann fell short Tuesday night.

GCU fell 59-57, its sixth loss this season by two points or fewer. The Lopes finished the regular season at 12-18 overall and 11-9 in Mountain West play and head to the Mountain West Championship as the No. 6 seed, facing either Utah State or San José State, depending on Wednesday results.

After a scoreless first half, Mann finished with a team-high 20 points at Wyoming, adding six rebounds and two made 3s.

GCU trailed 6-0 in the first quarter but rallied to take a 10-8 lead, eventually ending the quarter with a 12-11 advantage. Lopes freshman Ines Zounia, who finished with 14 points and seven boards, had eight of her night's points in the first quarter.

A low-scoring second half saw the Lopes only notch seven points, tied for lowest of any quarter this season. They trailed 24-19 but held Wyoming in check from downtown to an 0-for-6 clip from deep.

Mann took control of the third quarter from the get-go, scoring two tough layups and dishing out a corner pass to junior Julianna LaMendola for a 3. Just like that, the Lopes tied it at 26-26, and after two made free throws from Wyoming's Logann Alvar, Mann sunk her first trey ball to give GCU a 29-28 advantage.

GCU led the rest of the quarter, as Mann finished the third with 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.

Wyoming gained ground back with an 8-2 run to open the final frame. GCU showed its grit down the stretch, converting an and-one layup via freshman Norah Moo and a reverse layin from Zounia to bring the Lopes withing a possession of tying or taking the lead.

Back-to-back missed buckets from both squads set up GCU to foul with eight seconds to spare. Malene Pedersen, Wyoming's all-time free throw shooting percentage leader who was honored with three other Cowgirls on Senior Day, made her first but missed the second. Lopes head coach Winston Gandy called timeout to advance the ball and set up one final play.

That play was a Mann 3-pointer from the far side wing of the bench. The shot fell short, and freshman Diamond Wright's attempt to save the ball was too late.

GCU once again finished with a 70% or better showing from the free throw line, converting 9 of 12 for the evening. The defense held the Cowgirls to 1-of-11 3-point shooting.

The Lopes start the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) and 7:30 p.m. (Las Vegas time). Their opponent is to be determined.