MALIBU, Calif. — After taking an eight-day break, the Pepperdine women's basketball team looks to rebound at home against the California Baptist University Lancers on Saturday.
The game, which kicks off a doubleheader with the men's basketball team's game versus UCSD at 6 p.m., will be broadcasted on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader is the annual Willie's Winter Wishlist games, which feature drawings for prizes and free orange Santa hats for the first 100 students at both games. Attendance is free for Pepperdine students, faculty and staff with a valid Pepperdine ID; tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.
The Waves (2-7) lead the all-time series 3-2, yet the Lancers (7-0) have won the last two meetings. Two years ago, the Lancers beat the Waves 63-57 in Riverside; the coronavirus-addled 2020-21 season was the last time the two teams met in Firestone Fieldhouse.
GAME #10: Pepperdine vs. CBU | Saturday, Dec. 9 | Firestone Fieldhouse | Malibu, Calif. | ESPN+ | 2 p.m. PT
SCOUTING THE WAVES
The Waves are coming off a 74-57 loss to North Texas last Friday, in which the Waves led in the second half by as many as 11 points. The game was tied in the third quarter until three minutes of solid basketball from the Mean Green made the difference.
Addi Melone scored seven of her team-high 13 points against North Texas in the first quarter, plus she dished out a team-best four assists. Pepperdine's other co-leading scorer, Ella Brubaker, notched her fourth-consecutive double-digit night with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting in 16 minutes of play. She also added a season-high three steals. Additionally, Pepperdine freshman Jorynn Ross had arguably her best game of the season off the bench for the Waves with a career-high eight points, three rebounds, a block and an assist.
While the Waves have gotten a boost offensively from Brubaker (University Place, Wash./Curtis HS) over the last four games, Pepperdine has five players averaging over five points per game and fewer than nine points per game. Leading scorer and rebounder Jane Nwaba — she of 8.9 points and 6.8 boards per game — has been a consistent contributor for the Waves, while graduate transfer Myra Gordon (8.3 points per game) has finished in double-figures three times this year.
As a team, Pepperdine's defense is still one the best units in the West Coast Conference, as opposing teams connect on a mere 26.3% of their three-point attempts (top in the WCC), 38.9% of their field goals (2nd-WCC) and score 62.1 points per game (3rd-WCC). The Waves also rank third in the conference with 4.67 blocks per game at 4.67.
SCOUTING THE LANCERS
Led by two high-powered scorers and a top-100 scoring offense, CBU head coach Jarrod Olson's squad was picked third in the WAC Preseason Poll after winning the Women's Basketball Invitational a year ago. Carrying a 10-game win streak dating back to that run, the 7-0 Lancers are one of 20 remaining unbeaten teams in Division I women's basketball.
Bringing back WAC Second Team selection and All-WAC Preseason Team member Grace Schmidt, the Lancers have five returners and added three transfers to last year's team that went 22-10. Averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 52.9% from the field, Schmidt is the team's second-leading scorer behind fellow returner Chloe Webb who is the WAC's leading scorer at 21.1 points per game. Webb also leads the Lancers in rebounds (8.3 points per game) and steals (3.6 per game), plus has gone 34-for-42 (81.0%) from the free-throw line this year.
The Lancers and Waves share one common non-conference opponent in Long Beach State — which the Lancers beat 82-71 — yet CBU also played fellow West Coast Conference school Portland earlier this season. On Nov. 15, the Lancers eked out a 71-66 home win over the defending WCC champs.
CBU is coming off a two-game conference road trip, winning 79-66 at Southern Utah and 78-69 at Utah Tech. Aided by four road wins, the Lancers check in at 91st in the most recent NET rankings, which were unveiled for the first time earlier this week.
UP NEXT: Pepperdine heads to Cal State Bakersfield next Saturday, Nov. 16 for the Waves' final road game of the non-conference schedule. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
