MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine women's basketball team will close out the homestand this week hosting UAB and Cal State Fullerton.
GAME #4: Wednesday (Nov. 24) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: UAB (3-1) vs. Pepperdine (1-2) at 2 p.m.
GAME #5: Saturday (Nov. 27) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Cal State Fullerton (2-2) vs. Pepperdine (1-2) at 7 p.m.
COVERAGE: Both games will be broadcast live on the WCC Network with Darren Preston on the call. Links to the broadcast as well as live stats are available on the women's basketball schedule page on PepperdineWaves.com. Fans can also follow @WavesHoops on Twitter for live, in-game updates.
TICKETS: Patrons must have an e-ticket prior to arriving on campus. Pepperdine students, staff and faculty just need their Pepperdine ID card for entry. Tickets can be found at pepperdinewaves.com/tickets.
LAST GAME: On Saturday night inside Firestone Fieldhouse, the Waves dropped a contest to UC Santa Barbara, 74-63. Pepperdine had three players in double-digits, with Jane Nwaba and Cheyenne Givens banking 11 apiece. Givens shot 2-for-2 from long range and 4-for-8 overall, while Nwaba brought down seven rebounds and was 3-for-3 at the line.
SERIES VS. UAB: Pepperdine and UAB have only squared off once, with the last time being in the 1988-89 season. The Waves beat the Blazers 69-64 in Chicago, Ill.
SERIES VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Waves have a 14-9 advantage all-time against the Titans. Pepperdine has defeated Cal State Fullerton seven times inside Firestone Fieldhouse, six times inside Titans' Gym and once at a neutral site. The two teams last met in the 2016-17 season, when Pepperdine defeated Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton.
HONORS: Ally Stedman marked the first West Coast Conference weekly honors for the Pepperdine women's basketball team, being named WCC Freshman of the Week (11/15). She scored 36 points in two games against #20 UCLA and Eastern Washington, of which 28 points were against the Bruins, and helped the Waves to a 1-1 start to the season.
RETURNERS: Pepperdine returns four starters from last year's team. Malia Bambrick was the second-leading scorer on last year's team, scoring 10.7 points per game and shooting 36.3% from three, good for first on the team. She also is tied for seventh on the Pepperdine all-time three point record list with 137 made. Last season, Bambrick was named All-WCC honorable mention.
Cheyenne Givens also returns to Malibu after moving into a starting role as a junior. She averaged 9.0 points and led the team in assists (48/2.1 per game) and steals (39/1.7 per game).
Sophomore twins Jayda and Jayla Ruffus-Milner are coming off strong sophomore campaigns. Jayda averaged 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds and was second on the team with 11 blocks. Jayla averaged 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds and was second on the team with 27 steals.
THE SQUAD: The Waves bring back 11 returners and add three newcomers to the team. The returners include two seniors (Bambrick and Givens), five redshirt juniors (Cydney Rivera, Jayda Ruffus-Milner, Jayla Ruffus-Milner, Becky Obinma and Eve Braslis), three sophomores (Isabel Montoya, Jane Nwaba and Kendyl Carson) and redshirt freshman Rosemary Odebunmi. New to Malibu are freshmen Meaali'i Amosa, Helena Friend and Ally Stedman.
LAST YEAR: In her third year, Kristen Dowling led the Waves to a 5-18 overall record, including a 2-16 WCC record. Pepperdine fell in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament 85-73 to Loyola Marymount.
AT THE HELM: Kristen Dowling enters her third season as Pepperdine's head women's basketball coach. During her first two seasons with the Waves, she has a record of 21-33. Last season, the team had a 5-18 overall record, including a 2-16 WCC record. Her first year at the helm, she led the team to a 16-15 overall record, including an 8-10 WCC record. The team reached the semifinals of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas before falling to San Diego. Prior to Pepperdine, Dowling was the leader of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' program for seven years. She led the Athenas to six straight SCIAC regular-season championships as well four SCIAC Tournament championships and four NCAA Division III Tournaments. Along the way, the team had six straight 20-win seasons including five seasons with at least 23 wins.
WCC PRESEASON TEAM/RANKINGS: The Waves were picked to finish ninth in the 2021-22 season. The entire poll is as follows: 1. Gonzaga, 2. BYU, 3. San Diego, 4. San Francisco, 5. Portland, 6. Santa Clara, 7. Saint Mary's, 8. Loyola Marymount, 9. Pepperdine, 10. Pacific.
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 18 schools to have accomplished this feat – and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a major 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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
