Game Notes

THIS WEEK FOR THE WAVES: The Pepperdine women's basketball team closes regular-season play this week with a home game against Wells Fargo PCH Cup Rival Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

GAME #29: Saturday (February 27) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (6-22, 2-15) vs. LMU (9-19, 5-12) at 1 p.m. (PT).

COVERAGE: Saturday's game will be streamed live on TheW.tv. A link to live stats is also available at PepperdineSports.com.

SENIOR DAY: Pepperdine will be honoring its seniors prior to Saturday's final game, with a special pregame ceremony to commemorate the careers of Keitra Wallace, Kelsey Brockway, Krista Pettepier and Whitney Williams.

FOLLOW AND LIKE WAVES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Be sure and join Pepperdine's growing communities on Facebook and Twitter. Follow and like the Waves today. Facebook: Waves Hoops / Twitter: @WavesHoops

COMPETING WITH PURPOSE BLOG: Pepperdine is providing more insider content to its fans this season via the Competing With Purpose blog, which can be accessed at www.pepperdinesports.com.

LAST WEEK: The Waves dropped a pair of games on the road last week, falling to both San Francisco and Santa Clara in the Bay Area

DOWNING THE GAELS: The Waves pulled off a thrilling upset of Saint Mary's two weeks ago, beating the third-place team in the WCC 62-58 at home. Pepperdine trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half and by as much as six with just under two minutes to play, but came storming back for the win. The Waves' were led by Erica Ogwumike's 30 points, eight rebounds and four steals, Devin Stanback's nine points and Paige Fecske's five assists.

1,000 POINTS: Senior Keitra Wallace hit the 1,000 point mark with her first basket against San Francisco last week. She became the 21st player in program history to reach the milestone and the first to do it since Katie Menton and Lauren Bell in 2012. After scoring 24 points on the week, Wallace is now at 1,023 for her career.

Erica Ogwumike NOTES:
- Leads the team with 18.4 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
- Is second in the conference in scoring and nationally is fifth among all freshmen.
- Scored season-high 34 points against Portland, tying the ninth best total in program history. That was the most a Wave has scored since Bria Richardson's 44 points against Santa Clara (Jan. 2, 2014).
- 30 points in Waves' win over Saint Mary's and has 13 total 20+ point games.
- Has recorded seven double-doubles this season.

WCC TOURNAMENT: The WCC Tournament will be held next week in Las Vegas (3/3-8) at the Orleans Arena. The Waves currently sit in ninth place and if the standings hold would face eighth-place LMU in the first round.

HOOPS HERITAGE: The Waves' Erica and Olivia Ogwumike come from a prestigious basketball line, with their two older sisters currently playing in the WNBA. Older sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike played together at Stanford, where they both earned All-American recognition. The sisters where then both selected first overall in the WNBA draft, with Nneka being selected in 2012 by the Los Angeles Sparks and Chiney being picked by the Connecticut Sun in 2014.

A LOOK AT THE WAVES: Now in his third season at the helm, head coach Ryan Weisenberg and the Pepperdine women's basketball staff look to cash in on some of their rebuilding efforts with a new-look Waves team this season. Pepperdine has increased its win total each season under Weisenberg and now brings in a talented group of seven newcomers to help the program make another jump this year.

The Waves bring back three starters from last year's team, including second leading scorer Keitra Wallace, who put up 12.8 points per game as a junior last season. Former WCC All-Freshman team honoree Allie Green (11.8 ppg) also returns for the Waves, along with sophomore Olivia Ogwumike, who made the WCC's All-Freshman team last year.

Pepperdine brings in six players who earned All-State honors during their prep careers, including ESPN Top 100 recruit Erica Ogwumike, in what is the largest recruiting class during Weisenberg's tenure.

NEW STAFF: The Waves brought in three new assistant coaches this season after last year's assistants moved onto other opportunities, including a head coaching job for former assistant Tricia Raniewicz.

Darron Larsen comes to Pepperdine after coaching with Weisenberg in New Zealand and also serving as a head coach following Weisenberg for the Manawatu Jets.

Lacey Burns comes to Pepperdine after a very successful stint as a prep head coach at San Clemente High School and tenures at both Vanguard and Cal Poly Pomona in the collegiate ranks.

Josh Pace is coming off a 10-year professional playing career both in the U.S. and abroad. Pace was a collegiate standout at Syracuse as well, winning an NCAA Championship with the Orange under head coach Jim Boeheim in 2003.

Ryan Weisenberg ERA: The start of the 2013-14 season marked the opening of the Ryan Weisenberg era at Pepperdine. Weisenberg has made stops on the professional, collegiate and prep level during his coaching tenure, most recently coaching the Manawatu Jets in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Weisenberg has also spent time on the staffs of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sparks, winning a total of five titles with the teams from 2000-05. He is the sixth coach in program history.

RULE CHANGES: NCAA women's basketball has adopted several new rule changes for the 2015-16 season. Here are some of the notable changes:
- Games will consist of four 10-minute quarters instead of the two 20-minute halves.
- There will be one media timeout per quarter and teams will have four timeouts per game (one full, three :30).
- Teams will be able to advance the ball in the final minute of a game.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #57 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.