Avenging last year's finish.

Grand Canyon University Women's Club Basketball team 1 added some hardware to the trophy case over the weekend, winning the 2026 National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Regional VI Championship Series Basketball Tournament in the Canyon Activity Center. The Lopes used last year's 2^nd-place finish at the same event as fuel, refusing to lose this year on the path to their ultimate 48-29 victory over the University of California, Davis, in the title game.

GCU started the tournament off with two games of 'pool play' on Friday night and Saturday morning, beating Colorado State University, 52-21, and the same UC Davis team, 42-30, in the process. Their performance earned them a first-round bye in bracket play that ensued on Sunday.

In their first game of bracket play, the Lopes faced off with the University of California Los Angeles in the semifinals. Coming back from down 14 in the second half thanks to a barrage of three-pointers, the Lopes forced overtime and eventually wore the Bruins down, securing a 46-42 win and a bid to the title game for the second straight year.

Tipping off with a familiar foe in the championship, the Lopes battled the UC Davis Aggies to a 21-21 standstill by halftime. In the second half GCU senior power forward/center Livi Wood took over, scoring on three straight possessions to open the third quarter. GCU scored 27 more points in the second half while holding the Aggies to only 8.
 
Lopes' seniors Maggie Hobson, who finished with 12 points in the title game, and Wood, who finished with 26, both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team at the closing ceremony. Wood also earned Tournament MVP honors.

The next and final home game for the Lopes will be Senior Night against SAVI Prep at 6:30 PM on Monday, March 23 in the CAC. After that, GCU gears up for the NIRSA Women's Basketball National Championships on April 16-17 in Madison, Wisconsin.