WBB Preview: Aggies Hope To Snap Losing Streak Against Grand Canyon

After back-to-back losses to Wyoming that brought Utah State’s losing streak to seven games, the Aggies host Mountain West newcomer Grand Canyon and the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, Chloe Mann, on Wednesday morning.

Mann transferred in from Cincy and landed a team that was transferring from the WAC to the Mountain West. Her and Indiana transfer Juliana LaMendola lead the team, with Anisa Jeffries making a three-deep top tier. Those three sit on top of the GCU leaderboards almost exclusively. They are the top three scorers and lead the team in minutes. LaMendola and Jeffries are the top two in rebounds, Mann and LaMendola are the top two in assists, Jeffries is first in steals and Mann is tied for second, and LaMendola is first in blocks. 

The Lopes have lost their last two games by 10 or more points and they’re 6-14 (5-5). They have the second worst overall win percentage in the conference, ahead of only the 3-18 San Jose State Spartans, and are .500 in conference play. Despite their lackluster record, the metrics seem to love the Lopes. They are 142nd in the NET Rankings, the sixth best in the league, which is much more in line with their conference record than their overall record.

Even after going 1-9 in their non-conference slate, the Lopes are performing close to expectations. They were picked to finish seventh and are currently in sixth place.

The Aggies, who were picked 11th, are performing close to external expectations, but far below their expectations of themselves. They are currently in 11th place in the standings at 6-13 (2-8) and don’t have a lot going for them. That could all change in the matter of four quarters, but the Aggies need to get (and stay) healthy, and play together a complete game on both sides of the ball.

Players To Know

Chloe Mann: It doesn’t happen too often, but Mann's performance is prone to big swings.

She was shut out against Nevada with an 0-of-9 shooting night and five misses from deep but followed it up with a 19-point, 8-of-12 performance against New Mexico. In her two games since, she’s scored eight and 11. In her most recent outing, she added three rebounds, four assists and a season-high five steals to her 11 points. 

She’s averaging 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game and with a 34 percent hit rate from deep, she’s the team’s most reliable three-point shooter.

Juliana LaMendola: At 6-1, LaMendola is the interior force for the Lopes. She leads the team in boards and blocks and hits two-pointers at a 56.2 percent clip. 

She’s notched two double-doubles this year, a 25-point, 10-rebound game against San Jose State and more recently a 14-and-14 game against New Mexico.

Her scoring is also prone to rare but drastic volatility and she was shut out just two games ago after going 0-for-7 against Colorado State. She followed that with a 14-point game in her most recent outing adding four rebounds, four assists and a block against Boise State.

Anisa Jeffries: Jeffries is a great third option for the Lopes. She’s reliable across the board, except for in steals where she excels.

She hasn’t been shut out like the others, but she was held to just two points against Nevada, breaking up a string of six double-digit scoring performances. She didn’t have any steals in her last game but had four in the contest before that. She logged a season-high of five against Gonzaga.