MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team is back on its home court and will host San Diego and BYU. 
 
GAME #17: Thursday (Jan. 12) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (6-10, 1-5) vs. San Diego (8-8, 2-3) at 6 PM.
 
GAME #18: Saturday (Jan. 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (6-10, 1-5) vs. BYU (8-8, 3-2) at 2 PM.
 
COVERAGE: Both games will be broadcast live on the WCC Network with Darren Preston on the call. Links to live stats and broadcasts will be 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.
 
SERIES VS. SAN DIEGO: Pepperdine holds the overall series lead 48-40 over San Diego, but the Toreros have won the last five out of the six meetings dating back to the 2019-20 season.
 
SERIES VS. BYU: The Cougars hold the overall series lead 24-4. Last year, the two teams only met once, with BYU taking the win inside the Marriott Center. The Waves did defeat the Cougars in the 2020 WCC Tournament quarterfinal 62-51 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
LAST WEEK: Pepperdine matched up with Pacific and Saint Mary's on the road. On Thursday, Jan. 5, the Waves fell 74-65 to the Tigers in the Alex G. Spanos Center. Meaali'i Amosa led the Waves with a career-high 17 points by shooting 8-for-10. She also had six rebounds, two assists and a steal. On Saturday, Jan. 7, Pepperdine had three players in double-figures against Saint Mary's, but dropped 68-58 in the University Credit Union Pavilion. Becky Obinma had her first double-double of the season, highlighting the game with 12 points and a season-high 12 boards. Jane Nwaba led the squad with 13 points against the Gaels. Nwaba also had four rebounds, a block and a steal. Marly Walls collected 11 points and brought down eight reboards. 
 
THIS YEAR: Pepperdine ranks second on the WCC leaderboard in rebounds per game (39.9).
 
The Waves have been led by sophomore Ally Stedman who averages 15.4 points per game, ranking her seventh in scoring on the WCC leaderboard. Stedman also leads the WCC in steals per game (1.9).
 
Theresa Grace Mbanefo is the second-leading scorer on the squad averaging 13.5 points per game, which is good for 12th in the WCC. Mbanefo ranks fourth in the WCC in shooting percentage at 55.2%. She also ranks ninth in rebounds per game (6.1) and 12th in blocks per game (0.8).
 
Marly Walls leads Pepperdine in assists and ranks fourth in the WCC averaging 4.4 per game. She averages 1.6 steals per game which is fifth in the WCC. Walls is averaging 11.1 points per game, ranking her 17th in the WCC.
 
Becky Obinma leads the Waves in rebounds with 6.3 and ranks eighth on the WCC leaderboard. Obinma averages 4.9 points per game.
 
Meaali'i Amosa is the second-leading rebounder for the squad, averaging 6.0 per game which ranks tied for 11th on the WCC leaderboard
 
THE SQUAD: The Waves bring back eight returners and add six newcomers to the team. The returners include a redshirt senior (Obinma), two juniors (Carson and Jane Nwaba), a redshirt junior (Isabel Montoya), three sophomores (Amosa, Helena Friend and Stedman) and redshirt sophomore (Rosemary Odebumni). New to Malibu are graduate student transfers Theresa Grace Mbanefo and Marly Walls, and four true freshmen in KK Brodie, Drea Brumfield, Hailey Hoff and Hailey Johnson.
 
LAST YEAR: In her fourth year, Dowling led the Waves to a 8-17 overall record, including a 4-11 WCC record. The Waves fell in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament 65-54 to Loyola Marymount.
 
AT THE HELM: Kristen Dowling is in her fourth season as Pepperdine's head women's basketball coach. During her first three seasons with the Waves, she had a record of 29-50. 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, thåe 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 10th in the 2022-23 season. The entire poll is as follows: 1. Gonzaga, 2. Portland, 3. BYU, 4. San Francisco, 5. Saint Mary's, 6. San Diego, 7. Loyola Marymount, 8. Santa Clara, 9. Pacific, 10. Pepperdine.
 
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 20 schools to have accomplished this feat — and 10 overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 26 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also 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 2021-22). Located in scenic Malibu, California, 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 #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.