MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team added Emerita Mashaire, a junior wing transfer from Buffalo with several years of experience playing for Finland's national teams, to the 2023-24 roster on Thursday.

Mashaire is one of nine newcomers and six Division I transfers on Pepperdine's roster under the direction of first-year head coach Tim Hays.

In her lone season at Buffalo this past season, Mashaire started in all 28 games and averaged  4.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.2 minutes per game. She finished in double-figure scoring twice — including scoring a season-best 16 points against Bowling Green on Feb. 25.

Prior to Buffalo, Mashaire signed with Cincinnati as a true freshman in 2020-21, in which she played in 24 games and made three starts for the Bearcats. She scored a career-high 19 points against Tulane and, while playing in her last game for the Bearcats, finished with nine points, three steals, and two assists in 27 minutes against Houston in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

Her single-game career highs include 19 points (2/13/22 vs. Tulane), eight rebounds (1/11/23 vs. Ohio), five assists (2/25/23 vs. Bowling Green) and four steals (1/11/23 vs. Ohio).

Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, Mashaire has several years of experience playing for the Finnish  U15, U16, U18 and U20 national teams. She helped Finland win a European Championship Division B Gold Medal, plus she won Finnish Championship bronze medals with her U18 and U20 teams. Additionally, while playing for HBA Marksy, she helped her team win a World School Championship gold medal.

Mashaire is the first Finnish-born player in Pepperdine women's basketball history.

The Waves aim to improve on last season's 11-19 record, which included an appearance in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.