Pepperdine University
Long Beach State
Pepperdine and Long Beach State Square off on Monday
11/25/2023 12:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team aims to get back in the win column on Monday against fellow Los Angeles-area school Long Beach State at 6 p.m.
The game will be an Orange Out, and the first 50 students will receive free Willie the Wave t-shirts. Fans and students are encouraged to wear orange. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com, while fans outside Malibu can watch the game on ESPN+.
Long Beach State (2-2) has a 13-4 advantage in the all-time series, but the Waves (2-5) won the last meeting 83-71 in the Walter Pyramid during the 2017-18 season.
GAME #8: Pepperdine vs. Pepperdine | Monday, Nov. 27 | Firestone Fieldhouse | Malibu, Calif. | ESPN+ | 6 p.m.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
The Waves are looking to bounce back from a 59-40 home loss to Georgetown on Friday, Nov. 24. Despite leading by as many as eight points, the Waves coughed up 31 turnovers against Georgetown as it pulled away with its frenetic full-court press.
Senior guard Jane Nwaba has continued to be dependable for the Waves this season, averaging 9.1 points, a team-high 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Amongst West Coast Conference players, Nwaba ranks in the top 10 in rebounds per game (10th) and blocks per game (1.0, T-9th) despite playing as a wing in the Waves' offense.
Ella Brubaker has led Pepperdine in scoring off the bench, averaging 14.5 points per game on 52.6% shooting from the field over the past two games. The former NAIA All-American is the Waves' second-most accurate shooter and third-leading scorer at 6.7 points per game.
Down low, Pepperdine has gotten a boost from sophomore forward KK Brodie as of late, who has averaged 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game over the past week. Her 12 blocks on the season rank 20th in Division I and her 1.7 blocks per game is good for third amongst West Coast Conference players. Thanks to her, the Waves are second in the WCC with 4.74 rejections per contest.
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State has a 2-1 record against common opponents with the Waves. The Beach beat Biola 82-62 in its season-opener and beat Nevada by 22 at home, yet lost 74-64 at Fresno State last Tuesday. Additionally, they fell to future Pepperdine opponent California Baptist, 82-71. The Beach was picked seventh in the Big West Preseason Poll after losing all five starters from last year's 23-10, WNIT-qualifying team.
Junior guard Savannah Tucker leads the charge for LBSU with a team-high 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Long Beach State has five players averaging 8.0 points per game or more; Wright has relied on a 10-woman rotation over the last three games.
Not many degrees of separation exist between Pepperdine and Long Beach State's rosters. Former Pepperdine guard Cheyenne Givens — who was Nwaba's teammate during the coronavirus-addled 2020-21 season — has come off the bench to average 12.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. Former Pepperdine acting head coach Brian Rosario will also be present, sitting on the bench with the rest of Long Beach State's coaching staff.
UP NEXT: From here, Pepperdine will play its easternmost game of the year at North Texas on Friday, Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. local time.
