MALIBU, Calif. — For the first time in three weeks, the Pepperdine women's basketball team will play in the friendly confines of Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday, as it hosts Portland — the defending West Coast Conference Tournament champions.
Orange replica jerseys will be given to the first 50 fans in attendance. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.
Pepperdine has a 38-37 lead in the all-time series with the Pilots, however, Portland has won the last eight meetings between the two teams. The Waves have won two of the last five meetings at Firestone Fieldhouse, with the last one coming in the 2018-19 season.
GAME #19: Pepperdine vs. Portland | Thursday, Jan. 25 | Firestone Fieldhouse | Malibu, Calif. | ESPN+ | 6 p.m. PT
SCOUTING THE WAVES
The Waves aim to get back in the win column after three challenging road losses over the past two weeks. Pepperdine is looking to steer out of a four-game skid before they take on LMU in the second iteration of the PCH Cup rivalry series on Saturday.
Pepperdine's most recent outing was a 72-49 loss at Pacific, in which an early deficit prevented the Waves from successfully coming back — even after a spirited third quarter, which saw the Waves gradually chip away at the Tigers' lead. Freshman Jorynn Ross led the team with 13 points and Helena Friend added 11 points, two rebounds and a career-high four steals for the Waves. Friend, who worked her way into the starting rotation over the last three games, has put together a productive January, averaging 7.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Individually, Pepperdine's do-it-all senior Jane Nwaba continues to be one of the main contributors for the Waves. Against Pacific on Saturday, Nwaba played most of the point guard reps and finished with a near double-double with six points, nine rebounds and six assists. Over the last three road games, Nwaba has averaged 7.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Winners of two of the last five WCC Tournament titles, the Pilots returned three starters from last year's team and roughly half of the team's scoring output from last season. Head coach Michael Meek's squad was picked second in the preseason WCC polls and has mostly delivered, save for an overtime loss to Saint Mary's on Monday.
While Portland only has two double-figure scorers, the Pilots have six players averaging over five points per game. Senior Maisie Barnham leads the Pilots at 12.8 points per game, while Emme Shearer is one of the Pilots' better two-way players, averaging 10.7 points and 2.1 steals per game, the latter of which is tied for the most in the league. Throw in a frontcourt of Lucy Cochrane — the nation's leader in blocks at 3.4 rejections per game — and promising freshman Dyani Ananiev (8.0 points per game), and the Pilots have one of the WCC's most talented, multi-dimensional roster.
Defensively, however, the Pilots have one of the best units in the WCC. The Pilots average the most blocks (6.21 per game), steals (10.37 per game) and have held opponents to a league-low 38.7% shooting from the floor.
UP NEXT: Pepperdine returns to Malibu for a game against Portland on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.pepperdinewaves.com.
