WBB Preview: Utah State And Grand Canyon Square Off In MWC Tournament

They said they wouldn’t finish 11th. Then they finished 11th. Luckily for the Aggies, none of that matters anymore.

Grand Canyon, Utah State’s first-round draw at the Mountain West tournament, is a “terrific team,” at least according to head coach Wes Brooks, who said as much on Tuesday night.

That doesn’t matter either. 

“Now it’s tournament time. Throw all the records out the window. It doesn't matter.”

The Aggies and Lopes comprise the 11/6 matchup of the 2026 Mountain West Tournament. They've already met twice, and the season sweep helped power GCU to an 11-9 conference record to go along with its 12-18 overall record.

Both losses were part of Utah State’s now 17-game losing streak and added to the wrong columns of its 6-23 (2-18) record.

This iteration of the Mountain West Tournament is one of a kind, and both of these teams are a big part of that. This is GCU’s first season in the Mountain West, and it’s Utah State’s last.

The Aggies lost by exactly 20 in both meetings, but found the 20-point deficit in two different tax brackets, first losing 86-66, then 63-43.

Game One: Jan. 28, 2026, Logan

Starting Lineups

Utah State

• Aaliyah Gayles
• Elise Livingston 
• Karyn Sanford
• Macie Brown
• Sophie Sene 

Grand Canyon

• Ines Zounia
• Chloe Mann
• Casey Valenti-Paea
• Kaitlyn Elsholz
• Julianna LaMendola

Leaders

Points

USU: Aaliyah Gayles, 24; GCU: Casey Valenti-Paea, 16

Rebounds

USU: Aaliyah Gayles, 5; GCU: Anisa Jeffries, 8

Assists

USU: Aaliyah Gayles, 3; GCU: Chloe Mann/Julianna LaMendola/Anisa Jeffries, 4

Steals

USU: Aaliyah Gayles, 4; GCU: Casey Valenti-Paea/Anisa Jeffries, 2

Blocks

USU: Karyn Sanford, 1; GCU: Casey Valenti-Paea/Kaitlyn Elsholz/Norah Moo/Anisa Jeffries, 1

Game Two: Feb. 21, 2026, Phoenix

Starting Lineups

Utah State

• Elise Livingston 
• Aitana Rosello Lopez
• Jamisyn Heaton
• Karyn Sanford
• Rachel Wilson

Grand Canyon

• Ines Zounia
• Chloe Mann
• Anisa Jeffries
• Casey Valenti-Paea
• Julianna LaMendola

Leaders

Points

USU: Rachel Wilson, 16; GCU: Julianna LaMendola, 14

Rebounds

USU: Rachel Wilson, 8; GCU: Julianna LaMendola, 9

Assists

USU: Aaliyah Gayles, 3; GCU: Ines Zounia/Casey Valenti-Paea, 4

Steals

USU: Rachel Wilson/Aitana Rosello Lopez/Karyn Sanford, 2; GCU: Ines Zounia, 3

Blocks

USU: Karyn Sanford, 2; GCU: Julianna LaMendola, 1

Notable Contributors

Utah State

Aaliyah Gayles

Season averages: 27.8 minutes, 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 steals

Averages against GCU: 24 minutes, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 steals (Gayles played only one game against GCU)

Jamisyn Heaton

Season averages: 24.7 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 steals

Averages against GCU: 18 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal (only one game against GCU)

Karyn Sanford

Season averages: 28.3 minutes, 7.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks

Averages against GCU: 34.5 minutes, 12 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 1.5 blocks 

Elise Livingston

Season averages: 29.1 minutes, 7.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals

Averages against GCU: 31 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal

Rachel Wilson

Season averages: 19.3 minutes, 5.3 points, 4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.7 steals

Averages against GCU: 20 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 2 steals

Aitana Rosello Lopez

Season averages: 19.3 minutes, 3.6 points, 1 rebound, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals

Averages against GCU: 24.5 minutes, 5 points, 0.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals

Grand Canyon

Chloe Mann

Season averages: 30.5 minutes, 13 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals 

Averages against USU: 25.5 minutes, 8.5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals

Julianna LaMendola

Season averages: 27 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists

Averages against USU: 27 minutes, 11 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists

Anisa Jeffries

Season averages: 26.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals

Averages against USU: 26 minutes, 11.5 points, 5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2 steals

Ines Zounia

Season averages: 19.1 minutes, 7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals

Averages against USU: 20 minutes, 7.5 points, 3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2 steals

Casey Valenti-Paea

Season averages: 17.5 minutes, 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals

Averages against USU: 24.5 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals

Players To Watch

Julianna LaMendola: LaMendola, who was just named to the All-Mountain West Team, and Wilson went to war in the second of the two meetings.

For Wilson, it was a career night, but for the Indiana transfer with a proven track record and an obviously high ceiling, it wasn’t business as usual, but it wasn’t a rarity either. She was coming into the game after notching double digits in six of her last seven, including her last five in a row. She had just dropped 22 on New Mexico, marking the second time in three games that she had a 20-point game and her fourth in the year. She cooled down after her near double-double against the Aggies with seven and then six points, but notched 10 in the season finale. 

Utah State is still shorthanded down low, but Wilson has been transformative down the stretch. After back-to-back zero-point performances, she is averaging 10.6 points, bringing her season average to 5.3, alongside 6.8 rebounds, which brings her season average to four.

Controlling the post, which requires Utah State to slow LaMendola, will be a priority tonight. Sanford added 11 (eight from inside and two from the line), but it was Rachel Wilson’s 16 points and her eight rebounds that kept the Aggies close until the Lopes pulled away late in the game.

Chloe Mann: GCU’s roster is full of players who have enjoyed outside success against the Aggies, but Mann isn’t one of them. 

Mann is GCU’s leading scorer with an average of 13 points per game, but after two bouts with Utah State, she’s averaging a much more manageable eight points. She hits shots at a 36.3 percent clip, and against the Aggies it’s a nearly identical 36.4 percent. Her three-point shooting has been disrupted though. She takes an average of 4.4 deep shots a game and this at 31.8 percent, but she’s only taken a total of four against Utah State and hasn’t connected.

Keeping on average, she takes 10.8 shots from the floor, but only 5.5 against the Aggies. Most of her damage has been at the line. She was 6-of-6 from the stripe early, then 3-of-4 more recently. Nine of her 17 points against the Aggies have come with the clock stopped. If Utah State can clean up the fouls a bit, but keep her usage down and continue to negate her three-point presence, the Aggies make their job a lot easier.

Last Three Games

USU - 0-3

There are a lot of ways to analyze the 0-3 record in the last three games or the broader 17-game losing streak of which it’s a part, and it’s not difficult to find negative conclusions from that analysis. Truthfully, a 17-game losing streak speaks for itself. It doesn’t need much examination to reveal the limitations of the team.

For a more useful analysis, an analysis that finds some of the positive conclusions, Brooks is a good source.

“We’ll be ready to play. We’re playing well enough where we can go make some noise, and that’s what we’re going to try and do come Saturday,” Brooks said after the team’s overtime loss to Nevada.

“We’ve proven we can play well. Now we have to go finish the game. And so we’re going to go play, we’re going to give Grand Canyon our best shot and they’re going to give us their best shot. Let the best team win. But we have a chance on Saturday night,” he added. “We have put together great tape here coming down the stretch where if we can just finish games, we’re going to be right there.

“We talk about competitive greatness. Competitive greatness is being at your best when your best is required, and Aaliyah (Gayles) has a knack for (that)… When the going gets tough, she gets going, and she can carry (the team). And I would say that Elise Livingston can do that too.”

GCU - 2-1

The Lopes are 2-1 in their last three and coming off a loss to Wyoming. Their two wins are part of a three-game win streak that started with Utah State, then continued with wins over Fresno State and San Jose State. That three-game win streak snapped a three-game losing streak, which, in turn, replaced a three-game winning streak that also started with a win over the Aggies.