The Pepperdine women's basketball team will close out its stretch of road games this weekend with a match in Riverside against Cal Baptist at 11 a.m., and will head back to Malibu for a game versus UC Riverside on Monday at 6 p.m.
GAME #4: Saturday (Nov. 16) Pepperdine (1-2) vs. Cal Baptist (0-2) at Dan E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center in Riverside, Calif. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.
GAME #5: Monday (Nov. 18) Pepperdine (1-2) vs. UC Riverside (1-3) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
COVERAGE: Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Live stats can be found at www.pepperdinewaves.com
SERIES VS. CAL BAPTIST: Through six contests with the Lancers, the Waves are 3-3. Their meeting in 2023 resulted in a three-point loss at home for Pepperdine, with a final score of 57-60.
SERIES VS. UC RIVERSIDE: Pepperdine has played UC Riverside 18 times, and leads the series 14-4, with their last game in the 2022-23 season leaving the Waves with a 65-51 win at home.
LAST TIME OUT: In an early-week matchup with #5 UCLA, Pepperdine came up short, losing the match 91-54.
Ornela Muca posted a career-high 20 points, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, while also tabbing three assists and a steal.
Chloe Sotell added seven points, six of which came from three-point shots. The Waves shot better than the Bruins, averaging higher field goal and free throw percentages over UCLA throughout the game
THE SQUAD: Pepperdine returns eight on the 12-person roster. New faces include transfers Malia and
Makena Mastora, sisters from Cal State San Marcos and Saint Mary's, respectively. Other new faces include graduate
Ornela Muca from Cal and freshman
Chloe Sotell from
Stamford, Conn. Early on, senior
Megan Harkey (Summerfield, N.C.) and Muca lead the Waves with 30 points a piece, followed closely behind by
Makena Mastora, who has 25 points on the season.
AT THE HELM: Katie Faulkner is entering her first year as the head coach of the Waves. Previously, Faulkner served as an assistant at the University of Washington for three seasons. During her tenure, Faulkner took Washington to the WNIT Final four in the program's first postseason berth in six years. Prior to joining the Huskies, the Montana alumnae served as an assistant coach at Oregon State from 2016-2021. In those five seasons, the Beavers garnered a 118-37 record while going to the NCAA tournament four years in a row, including a 2018 Elite Eight appearance.
CATCH THE WAVES — Season tickets for Pepperdine men's and women's basketball are currently on sale at PepperdineWaves.com/Tickets (http://pepperdinewaves.com/tickets). Single game tickets are also available for purchase. Season ticket prices begin at $99 and fans have the opportunity to purchase a pass for priority parking near Firestone Fieldhouse for $200.
GROUP OPPORTUNITIES — Interested in bringing your group out to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Group tickets (15+ tickets) and experiences are available, beginning at $5 per person for women's volleyball, men's water polo and women's soccer. Those
interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or reach out to the ticket office via e-mail wavestix@pepperdine.edu or phone (866) WAVE-TIX.
JR. WAVES — Register your kid(s) to join Pepperdine's official kids club, "Jr. Waves" for the 2024-2025 academic year. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card and a lanyard that grants free general admission to all Pepperdine ticketed sporting events. Memberships start at $100 per kid.
