Waves Finish Homestand and Hit Road for Two WCC Games

Monday, January 31

Malibu, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

Saint Mary's

Buy Tickets

Cheyenne Givens

Photo by: Sarah Otteman

Waves Finish Homestand and Hit Road for Two WCC Games

1/30/2022 12:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

By: by Athletic Communications

MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine women's basketball team returns to the court after Portland's COVID-19 considerations postponed last weekend's game, with the Waves finishing the homestand by hosting Saint Mary's, and then hitting the road to visit PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount and San Francisco.

GAME #15: Monday (Jan. 31) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (5-9, 1-4) vs. Saint Mary's (9-9, 3-4) at 7 p.m.

GAME #16: Thursday (Feb. 3) at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.: Pepperdine (5-9, 1-4) at Loyola Marymount (7-11, 2-6) at 7 p.m.

GAME #17: Saturday (Feb. 5) at War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, Calif.: Pepperdine (5-9, 1-4) at San Francisco (10-11, 3-5) at 2 p.m.

COVERAGE: All three games will be broadcast live on the WCC Network and Darren Preston will have the call for the Waves' home contest. Links to the broadcasts 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 Thursday, the Waves dropped a home contest to Gonzaga, 66-54. Jane Nwaba led the Waves with a career night of 13 points by shooting 4-for-8. Ally Stedman banked 10 points by shooting 5-for-10. Becky Obinma had four blocked shots, which was one away from her career high.

SERIES VS. SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels hold the overall series lead 44-35. In the first meeting of the 2021-22 season, Saint Mary's defeated Pepperdine 70-53 inside the University Credit Union Pavilion.

PCH CUP: An annual all-sport competition between two local rivals that are separated by just 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, the PCH Cup is in its 13th season of existence. Pepperdine has won 10 of the 12 years that this competition has been held.

SERIES VS. LMU: The Waves hold the overall series lead 58-32. Pepperdine hosted the Lions last Tuesday and defeated Loyola Marymount 61-55.

SERIES VS. SAN FRANCISCO: The Dons hold a slight advantage in the overall series at 42-41, but the Waves have won five out of the last eight meetings dating back to the 2017-18 season.

HONORS: Ally Stedman marked the season's first West Coast Conference weekly honors for the Pepperdine women's basketball team when she was 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.

THIS YEAR: The Waves continue to be led by freshman Ally Stedman who averages 11.4 points per game, which ranks her 14th in scoring on the WCC leaderboard.

Malia Bambrick is the second-leading scorer on the team at 9.3 points per game. She is also in sole possession of fifth on the Pepperdine all-time three-point record list with 148 made. Bambrick was named All-WCC honorable mention last season.

Meaali'i Amosa is leading the team in shooting percentage at 54.5% shooting 24-for-44 and is the second-leading rebounder at 5.4 per game. She also is averaging 5.8 points per game.

Becky Obinma is averaging 8.8 points per game and leads the Waves in rebounds at 6.5 per game and is seventh in the WCC. She has blocked 18 shots this season, which ranks her third in the WCC.

Jayla Ruffus-Milner has the second highest shooting percentage at 49.1% shooting 26-for-53. She is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, which is good for 17th in the WCC.

Kendyl Carson leads the Waves in assists at 4.2 per game, marking her name third in the WCC.

Cheyenne Givens ranks second on the team in assists with 2.9 per game, which also puts her at 15th on the WCC leaderboard.

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. 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 2020 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.

POSTPONEMENTS: The Waves have had six games thus far postponed due to COVID-19 regulations. Pepperdine was supposed to open up West Coast Conference play on Dec. 30 hosting Pacific, but due to COVID-19 considerations on the Tigers' end, the game has been moved to Feb. 15. The Waves also were intended to play host to Saint Mary's on Jan. 1, but due to COVID-19 considerations with the Waves, the game has been moved to Jan 31. Additionally, Pepperdine was supposed to travel to play San Diego on Jan. 6, but due to COVID-19 regulations, the game has been postponed to Feb. 21. The Waves intended to host Loyola Marymount on Jan. 8, but the game has been postponed to Tuesday, Jan. 18 and also postponed again to Tuesday, Jan. 25. Pepperdine was scheduled to host BYU on Thursday, Jan. 20, but due to COVID-19 considerations with the Waves, the game has been postponed. The Waves were supposed to host Portland on Jan. 29, but due to COVID-19 protocols within the Pilots, the game has been postponed.

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.