MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine women's basketball officially enters its 49th season on Tuesday, as the Waves host UC Irvine in Firestone Fieldhouse at 6 p.m.
Tuesday's game marks the season-opener for both teams and is the 35th meeting between the two Southern California programs. Both teams last met in 2017; Pepperdine leads the all-time series 22-14. The Waves have won their last five home openers dating back to 2018-19.
Pepperdine's UC Irvine game is the first of a three-game home-stand for the Waves, who host New Mexico on Thursday and Caltech on Saturday.
GAME #1: Pepperdine vs. UC Irvine | Tuesday, Nov. 7 | Firestone Fieldhouse | Malibu, Calif. | ESPN+ | 6 p.m.
Tuesday is Interim Head Coach Kelsey Keizer's first game at the helm of a Division I program. Keizer, who was promoted to the interim head coach job in August, has nine years of head coaching experience at Division II Southwest Baptist. Her coaching staff includes Shawn Faust, Monique' Jones — Keizer's teammate at Drake University — and Amaka Uzomah. They aim to help Pepperdine improve off its 11-19 season from last year, in which they finished ninth in the West Coast Conference standings.
Aside from Keizer and her staff, Tuesday will be the official debut for 10 of the 14 Waves on the roster. During the offseason, Pepperdine brought in eight transfers and two true freshmen.
Of the Waves' eight transfers, four hail from Power-5 schools: Mi'Cole Cayton (Minnesota via Nebraska and California), Lexi Griggsby (Washington) and Myra Gordon (Alabama), plus former Iowa State forward Maggie Vick. Senior center Megan Harkey (Xavier) and junior guard Emerita Mashaire (Buffalo via Cincinnati) round out the Division I transfers. All of Pepperdine's transfers are immediately eligible this season.
Junior guards Ella Brubaker (The Master's University) and Addi Melone (Eastern Arizona College) round out the Waves transfers. Brubaker was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, while Melone was an all-conference point guard at Eastern Arizona College. Jorynn Ross (Milwaukee, Wisc./Summer Creek HS) and Holly Griffiths (Melbourne, Australia/Our Lady of Mercy College) are the only true freshmen on the roster.
Pepperdine's returners are led by senior Jane Nwaba, who is the Waves' top returning scorer (9.3 points per game) and rebounder (3.4 per game). Nwaba has made 34 starts in 75 career games for the Waves, and is Pepperdine's lone returning starter from last season. Sophomore center KK Brodie and junior guard Helena Friend were role players on last season's team, while Hailey Johnson will begin her college career after redshirting a year ago.
Last Friday, Pepperdine beat Division II Biola 56-50 in an exhibition game at home. Emerita Mashaire led all scorers with 17 points (on 7-for-14 shooting) off the bench, while Myra Gordon (11 points) was the only other Wave in double-figures. Senior Jane Nwaba, the lone returning starter from last year, nearly had a double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Last season, UC Irvine won the regular-season Big West title and made its second-consecutive WNIT appearance, where they beat San Diego State in the first round and fell to West Coast Conference institution San Diego in the second round. Returning 10 letter-winners from their 25-7 campaign, the Anteaters were picked second in the Big West preseason poll.
