MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team is back in Malibu for a two-game homestand, hosting Saint Mary's and Pacific. The Waves' game on Saturday against the Tigers is the first part of a double-header with the men's basketball team.
 
GAME #22: Thursday (Feb. 2) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (7-14, 2-9) vs. Saint Mary's (10-12, 4-7) at 6 PM.
 
GAME #23: Saturday (Feb. 4) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.: Pepperdine (7-14, 2-9) vs. Pacific (8-14, 3-8) at 1 PM.
 
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.
 
COVERAGE: Both games will be streamed 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.
 
BILL RUSSELL RECOGNITION: The 20 men's and women's basketball programs, in conjunction, with the WCC will celebrate the life and legacy of Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball players of all time during the first week of February. Student-athletes will wear a shirt representing Russell's famous No. 6 during pregame activities for conference contests on Feb. 2 and 4.
 
SERIES VS. SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels have the overall series advantage 44-37 over the Waves. During week three of WCC play, Pepperdine fell 68-58 to Saint Mary's in Moraga.
 
SERIES VS. PACIFIC: Pacific holds the overall series lead 16-9 with Pepperdine. This season, the Tigers defeated the Waves 74-65 in week three of WCC play.
 
LAST WEEK: On Thursday, Jan. 26, Pepperdine dropped a road contest 70-57 to Portland. The Waves had a slight advantage over the Pilots after the first quarter, but Portland took the lead in the second. Marly Walls was the leading scorer for the Waves with 20 points. She had six rebounds, four assists and a steal. This was Walls'' fifth game of the season with 20 or more points. Becky Obinma recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. On Saturday, Jan. 28, Pepperdine matched up with then ranked #17/20 Gonzaga and was unable to hold on against the Bulldogs,falling 67-49 in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Waves started hot and took a 28-24 lead over the Bulldogs heading into halftime, but a 26-point third quarter for Gonzaga put them on top. Pepperdine out-rebound Gonzaga 43-35. Ally Stedman led the squad with 17 points. Becky Obinma had her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, which also tied her season-high in both categories.
 
THIS YEAR: Pepperdine leads the WCC in rebounds averaging 39.5 per game and are ranked third in blocks per game with 3.3.
 
The Waves continue to be led by sophomore Ally Stedman who averages 15.5 points per game, ranking her eighth in scoring on the WCC leaderboard. Stedman also leads the WCC in steals per game (1.8).
 
Theresa Grace Mbanefo is the second-leading scorer on the squad averaging 12.6 points per game, which is good for 15th in the WCC. Mbanefo ranks fourth in the WCC in shooting percentage at 52.9%. She also ranks 13th in rebounds per game (5.7) and 15th in blocks per game (0.7).
 
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 eighth in the WCC. Walls averages 11.8 points per game which is good for 16th in the WCC and averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
Becky Obinma leads the Waves in rebounds with 7.1 and ranks seventh on the WCC leaderboard. Obinma averages 5.9 points per game.
 
Meaali'i Amosa is one of three top rebounders for the squad, averaging 5.7 per game which ranks 12th on the WCC leaderboard. Amosa averages 5.4 points per game.
 
KK Brodie leads Pepperdine in blocks with 16, which ranks 12th in the WCC. She averages 0.8 blocks per game, ranking her 10th 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.