Women's Hoops on ESPNU on Thursday Night
1/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 8, 2008
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine women’s basketball team (5-8) is back on the road this week with its conference opening games against Gonzaga and Portland.
GAME #14 PEPPERDINE VS. GONZAGA — Thursday (Jan. 10) at the McCarthy Athletic Center, in Spokane, Wash. at 8 p.m.
GAME #15 PEPPERDINE VS. PORTLAND — Saturday, (Jan. 12) at the Chiles Center, in Portland, Ore. at 2 p.m.
WAVES ON TELEVISION — Catch the Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine game live on ESPNU, Thursday night at 8 p.m.
ON THE WEB — Pepperdine fans can catch all home women’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Live video, audio and statistics will be provided. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts button.
GONZAGA — Pepperdine’s record against Gonzaga is 28-16. The Waves defeated Gonzaga in the last game played (Feb. 1, 2007) 70-56 at Gonzaga.
Gonzaga closed out its non-conference schedule last week with a 67-43 win over Saint Joseph’s University. Sophomore Heather Bowman scored 14 points for Gonzaga. She hit 5-of-8 from the floor and 4-for-4 on free-throws.
The Bulldogs are coached by Kelly Graves, who is in her eighth season with the program and holds an impressive 120-93 record.
PORTLAND — The Waves hold a 30-14 record against Portland. In their last meeting with the Pilots, (Feb. 3, 2007) the Waves won 72-45, at Portland.
Portland defeated Sacramento State (Dec. 30. 2007) 74-61 in a non-conference game.
Senior Rachel Warren and Sophomore Laiken Dollente both netted 16 points for the Pilots. Warren had a season-high 13 rebounds, while Dollente hit all six of her free throws.
Portland is coached by Jim Sollars who is in his 22nd season of coaching the Pilots. Sollars holds a 285-318 record at Portland.
PEPPERDINE VS. COLORADO RECAP — The Pepperdine women’s basketball team concluded its non-conference play with a loss to University of Colorado Friday night, 65-53, at the Coors Event / Conference Center, located in Boulder, Colorado.
Daphanie Kennedy (Oakland, Calif. / Kearny HS) was the leading scored for the Waves with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Katie Menton (Coarsegold, Calif. / Yosemite HS) shot 8 points, had 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
DAPHANIE KENNEDY HITS 1,137 AND COUNTING — Senior guard Daphanie Kennedy broke the 1,000 point mark for her career (Nov. 28,) against UCLA.. She becomes the 16th player in Pepperdine history to surpass the 1,000-point level. Kennedy scored a total of 915 points in her first three seasons. Kennedy is currently ranked No. 4 in the WCC for scoring with a 17.0 average per game, No. 3 for steals with a 2.23 average per game. For Offensive rebounds, Kennedy is ranked No. 14 with 2.08 per game and No. 9 for assists with a 3.00 game average. Kennedy leads the team in scoring with 221 points
MIRANDA AYIM — Sophomore forward Miranda Ayim leads the WCC in field goals percentage with a .565 average and is ranked No. 1 for defensive rebounds with 5.85 per game. Ayim is ranked No. 10 in scoring with a 12.2 average per game and No. 3 in rebounding posting an 7.7 average per game. For blocked shots, Ayim holds the No. 4 position with a 1.92 game average and is ranked No. 3 for free throw percentages with an .822 average per game.
She is the second highest scorer for the Waves with 159 points.
TEIOSHA GEORGE — Junior forward Teiosha George is ranked No. 9 in the WCC for blocked shots with a 0.77 game average and holds the No. 12 spot for field goal percentages with a .457 average per game. For rebounds, George is ranked No. 9 with a 6.3 game average. George is the Waves No. 3 scorer with 121 points.
TEENA WICKETT — Sophomore forward Teena Wickett is ranked No. 4 in the WCC for rebounds with a 7.7 average per game. She holds the No. 12 spot for assists with a 2.83 average per game and ranks No. 3 for defensive rebounds with a 5.08 average per game.
JESSICA ROSS — Junior guard Jessica Ross was the Waves high scorer for two consecutive games with 12 points against Coppin State and 17 points against George Washington. Ross ranks No. 14 in the WCC for 3-point field goals made with a 1.31 average.
KATIE MENTON — Freshman guard Katie Menton leads the Waves for 3-point shots made and ranks No. 9 in the WCC with a 1.69 average per game. The freshman sensation is No. 15 for 3-point field goal percentage with a .314 average per game and ranks No. 15 for blocked shots with a .54 average per game. For scoring, Menton holds the No. 29 position with 113 points and an 8.7 average per game.
ROSTER — All five starters and 10 letterwinners return from last year’s team, which went 14-17 overall and fifth in the WCC with a 6-8 record. The Waves added three new players (two true freshmen and one transfer) this year. The roster breakdown is as follows: four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
TOP SIX — The WCC’s coaches released a preseason "top six" of the best players in the conference, and senior guard Daphanie Kennedy and sophomore forward/center Teena Wickett earned two of the six slots. Kennedy earned All-WCC first team honors as a sophomore and honorable mention as a junior. Wickett was an All-WCC first teamer as a freshman.
WCC PRESEASON POLL — Pepperdine was picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference in a preseason vote of the league’s coaches. The predicted order is as follows: San Diego, Gonzaga, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Portland.
JULIE ROUSSEAU — The fifth head coach in Pepperdine women’s basketball history, Julie Rousseau is now in her fourth season with the Waves. She is a former head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and was an assistant coach at Stanford before joining the Waves. In just her second season, she led Pepperdine to a WCC Tournament title and a spot in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
SERVICE — The women’s basketball team is one of the most involved teams at Pepperdine in community service. On Nov. 23, they hosted their second annual Time Out 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament to promote awareness and raise money to fight the disease. The tournament was also used as an avenue to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Malibu First Presbyterian Church. Unfortunately, the Malibu canyon fires forced the cancellation of the second day of the tournament. In October, they participated in a two-mile walk to support The Leukemia-Lymphoma Society, and on Thanksgiving, the team will spend the day feeding the homeless in downtown Los Angeles. All of this involvement, Rousseau believes, is the key to success in life and on the court – which is giving to others and making the world a better place.
PEPPERDINE HISTORY — Pepperdine has posted a winning record in 10 of the last 14 years and has registered six 20-win seasons over the past 10 years. The Waves captured the program’s first-ever West Coast Conference Tournament title in 2002 and followed that up with victories in 2003 and 2006. Pepperdine has also won at least a share of the regular-season championship in four of the last nine seasons. Pepperdine has made the postseason in seven of the last nine years, including the NCAA Tournament four times. The Waves also played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament three times in recent years.
WAVES IN THE PROS — Rasheeda Clark, who played for the Waves from 1999-2001 and was the 2000 WCC Player of the Year, became the school’s first-ever player to be chosen in the WNBA Draft (however, she didn’t end up making a team). Then, Jennifer Lacy became the first WCC women’s basketball player to make a WNBA roster, as she won a spot with the Phoenix Mercury in 2006. Lacy was then part of the Mercury’s 2007 WNBA championship squad.
FIRESTONE FIELDHOUSE — Firestone Fieldhouse opened on Nov. 30, 1973. and it has long been the home of the Pepperdine women’s basketball program. Since the 1976-77 season, which spans the last 31 seasons, the Waves have won more than 63 percent of their home games. Pepperdine has posted 24 winning seasons at home and just six sub-.500 seasons.
TICKETS — A limited number of 2007-08 Pepperdine women’s basketball season tickets in the Lower Reserved section are available for purchase at a cost of $60 each. Individual game prices are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and children. For more information please call 1-866-WAVE-TIX.
