Women's Hoops On The Road This Week
11/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GAME #2 - Tuesday (Nov. 17) PEPPERDINE vs. SAN JOSE STATE @ 7 p.m. in The Event Center, San Jose, Calif.
The Spartans (1-0) are coming off of a 79-77 win over Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 13).
San Jose State came back from an 11 point half-time deficit to beat the Titans.
Chasity Shaver acored a career high 21 points including 9-of-13 from the field.
The Waves defeated the Spartans 75-46 in Firestone Fiedlhouse last season.
GAME #3 - Thursday (Nov. 19) PEPPERDINE vs. STANFORD @ 7 p.m. in The Maples Pavilion, Palo Alto, Calif.
The No. 2 Cardinal (2-0) defeated No. 25 Rutgers 81-66 on Sunday. Kayla Pedersen scored 22 points and Nnemkadi Ogwumike added 21 points.
Stanford returned everyone from last season's team that made it to the Final Four and ended its run with a loss to Connecticut.
GAME #4 - Saturday (Nov. 21) PEPPERDINE vs. CAL POLY SLO @ 2 p.m. in the Robert A. Mott Gymnasium.
Five Mustangs (1-0) scored in the double-digits last Sunday Cal Poly SLO defeated New Mexico State 90-86. Becky Tratter recorded a carrer-high 19 points.
The Waves defeated the Mustangs last season 79-72 on Dec. 21.
NORTHERN ARIZONA RECAP -- The Pepperdine women's basketball team opened their regular season play with a 96-67 win over Northern Arizona on Friday night, in the Firestone Fieldhouse.
Senior captain Miranda Ayim (London, Ontario, Canada) was the games high-scorer along with NAU's Amy Patton with 16 points. The Waves (1-0) had four player score in double-digits. Pepperdine shot 41 percent in the paint to NAU's 41 percent. Pepperdine went 73 percent on free throws shooting 35-of-48, while the Lumberjacks shot 63 percent. The Waves recorded 21 steals to NAU's eight.
ON THE WEB - Subscribers to "Wave Casts" can catch Pepperdine women's basketball home games and selected road games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts link. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team's website when the Waves are on the road.
HONORS FOR AYIM - Senior co-captain Miranda Ayim has been selected as a candidate for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior Class Award. Ayim is one of sixty NCAA men's and women's basketball players who excel both on and off the court.
The criteria for the award is the student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence -- classroom, character, community and competition.
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: Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.
WCC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM - Junior forward Miranda Ayim (London, Ont., Canada) was selected to the 2009-10 WCC Preseason All-Conference Team.
JULIE ROUSSEAU - The fifth head coach in Pepperdine women's basketball history, Julie Rousseau is now in her sixth 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.
THE WAVES COACHING STAFF - Maylana Martin Douglas (UCLA 2000), Darryl Brown (Temple 1995) and Maurice Hilliard (LaVerne 1991) round out the 2009-10 coaching staff. This is the second season for the staff. Rousseau describes "great chemistry among the staff and athletes." She went on to describe the trio as "evenly balanced, hard workers who have great character and a desire to mentor each of the young women in our program and help them grow."
WAVES RETURNERS - Starting returners from 2008-09 are Miranda Ayim and Jazmine Jackson (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep).
Ayim has been named to the All-WCC first team for the second straight year. She led the team in scoring (11.5) and rebounding (5.4). The 6-3 center was selected as Pepperdine's Femal Scholar-Athlete of the Year and made the COSiDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District third team.
Jackson was selected to the WCC All-Freshman team and was named to the All-WCC honorable mention team. Jackson was the second highest scorer as a freshman.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN - Five freshmen join the Waves this year. Shay Cooney-Williams (Frisco, Texas/Fisco HS) is an all-state first team point guard...Jade McNorton (Boise, Idaho/Centennial HS) is a 6-3 post player with prep All-American honors...Kelsey Patrick (Mukileto, Wash./Kamiak HS) is a 6-0 forward, All American nominee...Doris Parks-Sherman (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park HS) is a 6-1 forward who was tabbed Ventura County's 2009 Female Player of the Year and Keyah Shealy (Englewood, Colo./Regis Jesuit HS) is a 5-11 guard/forward who led her high school to a state title and was tabbed all-state first team.
MENTON BACK - Redshirt sophomore Katie Menton (Coarsegold, Calif./ Yosemite HS) returns to action after missing most of last season with an injury. Menton was a 2007-08 WCC All-Freshman Team selection. Menton averaged 8.9 points per game and contributed 47 assists for the season. The versatile sophomore played in all 28 games and started in four.
SERVICE - The women's basketball team is one of the most involved teams at Pepperdine in community service. In the summer, the team put on a series of basketball clinics for local youth to attend. 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 11 of the last 16 years and has registered six 20-win seaso 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.
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.
TICKETS - A limited number of 2008-09 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. Formore information please call 1-866-WAVE-TIX.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men's sports - one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine's teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles over the past 10 years. The Waves captured the programs 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.
