Winston Gandy - Women's Basketball Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics
Their new head coach was an assistant at South Carolina for the last two seasons. He helped them win the national championship. He sounds like a sensational candidate for GCU. I didn't realize that GCU went 32-3 last season and made the NCAA Tournament. Their entire coaching staff is gone and only one player returns.
2025-2026 Grand Canyon Women's Basketball
Although their early record is not impressive, the toughness of their schedule has been brutal. The Lopes opened at South Carolina and lost by forty points. The Gamecocks are undefeated. They then came home and were surprised by Idaho State (4-1). Grand Canyon then hit the road to lose at Oregon (5-0) and UCSB on a buzzer beater, 72-70. The Gauchos are 4-1 and have only lost to UCLA. Southern Methodist was the initial victory under Winston Gandy in their most recent outing.
I'm predicting that Cal will defeat Grand Canyon, 70-60. The Lopes have two weaknesses that I believe that the Bears can exploit. Their ballhandling is weak, averaging 20.4 turnovers vs 11.2 assists. They're mediocre on the boards, gathering 36.4 boards per game! If one subtracts out the SC blowout, their defense yields approximately 70 ppg.
The Lopes have two 6-4 posts that don't play many minutes. Their top scorers are a trio of guards that lead Grand Canyon in three-point baskets made. Chloe Mann, a 5-8 soph SG, has nine, Ale'jah Douglas, a 5-6 grad student has 10 and 6-1 junior wing, Juliana Lamendola, has 7 treys. GCU launches 20 three-point attempts per game and hits 6.2.
2025-26 Women's Basketball Roster - Grand Canyon University Athletics
Their typical starting five in SG Chloe Mann who leads in scoring w/12.6 points and in assists w/ 12. An Aussie PG, Casey Valenti-Paea, is a 5-9 grad student that plays 15 minutes per contest. The wing, Juliana Lamendola, is the top rebounder with 5.6 and is 3rd in offense with 9.2 points. An Aussie 6-4 post, junior Holly Griffiths, plays only 8.6 minutes per night. Their SF, 5-11 senior Anisa Jeffries, hails from Mexico. She is second in rebounding (5.2), fourth in points (7.8) & best in steals.
The new HC is employing an eleven-player rotation that receives between 11.4 to 28 minutes per game. Their sixth man and instant offense threat is Ale'jah Douglas who hits 55% on her treys. Another contributor is 6-2 frosh PF, Norah Moo, who averages 5.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg in only 13.4 minutes. She is shooting an impressive 71% from the floor. Another athletic freshman is 5-10 guard Ines Zounia, from France. In only 13.8 minutes of PT, she adds 4.8 points to the offense on 41.7 FG%.
The recipe for success for Cal is to dominate inside, defend the perimeter and apply pressure to their guards. The Bears should create some easy transition buckets to carry the day. GO BEARS!
Their new head coach was an assistant at South Carolina for the last two seasons. He helped them win the national championship. He sounds like a sensational candidate for GCU. I didn't realize that GCU went 32-3 last season and made the NCAA Tournament. Their entire coaching staff is gone and only one player returns.
2025-2026 Grand Canyon Women's Basketball
Although their early record is not impressive, the toughness of their schedule has been brutal. The Lopes opened at South Carolina and lost by forty points. The Gamecocks are undefeated. They then came home and were surprised by Idaho State (4-1). Grand Canyon then hit the road to lose at Oregon (5-0) and UCSB on a buzzer beater, 72-70. The Gauchos are 4-1 and have only lost to UCLA. Southern Methodist was the initial victory under Winston Gandy in their most recent outing.
I'm predicting that Cal will defeat Grand Canyon, 70-60. The Lopes have two weaknesses that I believe that the Bears can exploit. Their ballhandling is weak, averaging 20.4 turnovers vs 11.2 assists. They're mediocre on the boards, gathering 36.4 boards per game! If one subtracts out the SC blowout, their defense yields approximately 70 ppg.
The Lopes have two 6-4 posts that don't play many minutes. Their top scorers are a trio of guards that lead Grand Canyon in three-point baskets made. Chloe Mann, a 5-8 soph SG, has nine, Ale'jah Douglas, a 5-6 grad student has 10 and 6-1 junior wing, Juliana Lamendola, has 7 treys. GCU launches 20 three-point attempts per game and hits 6.2.
2025-26 Women's Basketball Roster - Grand Canyon University Athletics
Their typical starting five in SG Chloe Mann who leads in scoring w/12.6 points and in assists w/ 12. An Aussie PG, Casey Valenti-Paea, is a 5-9 grad student that plays 15 minutes per contest. The wing, Juliana Lamendola, is the top rebounder with 5.6 and is 3rd in offense with 9.2 points. An Aussie 6-4 post, junior Holly Griffiths, plays only 8.6 minutes per night. Their SF, 5-11 senior Anisa Jeffries, hails from Mexico. She is second in rebounding (5.2), fourth in points (7.8) & best in steals.
The new HC is employing an eleven-player rotation that receives between 11.4 to 28 minutes per game. Their sixth man and instant offense threat is Ale'jah Douglas who hits 55% on her treys. Another contributor is 6-2 frosh PF, Norah Moo, who averages 5.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg in only 13.4 minutes. She is shooting an impressive 71% from the floor. Another athletic freshman is 5-10 guard Ines Zounia, from France. In only 13.8 minutes of PT, she adds 4.8 points to the offense on 41.7 FG%.
The recipe for success for Cal is to dominate inside, defend the perimeter and apply pressure to their guards. The Bears should create some easy transition buckets to carry the day. GO BEARS!
