MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team will be heading to the Pacific Northwest to matchup with Portland and #17 Gonzaga.
 
GAME #20: Thursday (Jan. 26) at Chiles Center in Portland, Ore.: Pepperdine (7-12, 2-7) at Portland (14-6, 8-1) at 6 PM.
 
GAME #21: Saturday (Jan. 28) at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.: Pepperdine (7-12, 2-7) at #17 Gonzaga (19-2, 9-0) at 2 PM.
 
COVERAGE: 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.
 
SERIES VS. PORTLAND: The Waves hold the overall series lead 38-36 with the Pilots. Portland has won seven out of the last eight meetings, including an 86-76 victory over Pepperdine last month in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
SERIES VS. GONZAGA: Gonzaga has won 49 out of the 79 matchups between the two schools. Pepperdine's last win against Gonzaga was in the 2016-17 season when the Waves won by a 10-point margin at home.
 
LAST TIME OUT: On Saturday, Jan. 21, Pepperdine hosted PCH Cup rival LMU and dominated the Lions 68-48 in Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves came out hot in the first quarter and put up 22 points compared to the Lions' 11 and never let go of the lead. Marly Walls led the squad with 23 points by shooting 6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-3 from long range and 8-for-9 at the free throw line. She dished out seven assists, had a block and a steal. This is the fourth game this season Walls has had 20-plus points. Theresa Grace Mbanefo put up 12 points by shooting 6-for-7. Jane Nwaba collected eight points and led the Waves in rebounds with nine. Nwaba had four assists and one steal. Helena Friend also had eight points.
 
THIS YEAR: Pepperdine ranks top-five in three categories on the WCC leaderboard. The Waves are second in rebounds per game (39.5), third in blocks per game (3.4), and fifth in shooting percentage (41.9).
 
The Waves continue to be 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 13.4 points per game, which is good for 11th in the WCC. Mbanefo ranks third in the WCC in shooting percentage at 56.7%. She also ranks 11th in blocks per game (0.7) and 12th in rebounds per game (5.8).
 
Marly Walls leads Pepperdine in assists and ranks fourth in the WCC averaging 4.5 per game. She averages 1.6 steals per game which is sixth in the WCC. Walls ranks eighth in free throw percentage (82.3%) and averages 11.8 points per game which is good for 17th in the WCC. She is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game ranking her 17th.
 
Becky Obinma leads the Waves in rebounds with 6.6 and ranks seventh on the WCC leaderboard. Obinma averages 5.2 points per game.
 
Meaali'i Amosa is one of three top rebounders for the squad, averaging 5.6 per game which ranks 13th on the WCC leaderboard. Amosa averages 5.6 points per game.
 
KK Brodie leads Pepperdine in blocks with 16, which is tied for ninth in the WCC. She averages 0.8 blocks per game, ranking her ninth in the conference.
 
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.