Pepperdine University
Saint Mary's
Women's Basketball Takes on Saint Mary's
2/16/2024 1:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — Taking its final road trip in West Coast Conference play, the Pepperdine women's basketball team heads to Moraga, Calif. to take on the Saint Mary's Gaels for the first time this season. Tip-off is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.
Saint Mary's, the lone opponent Pepperdine hasn't faced this season, leads the all-time series with a 36-46 record. The Gaels have won three of the last five meetings, and Pepperdine has not won in UCU Pavilion since the 2018-19 season.
GAME #26: Pepperdine at Saint Mary's | Thursday, Feb. 15 | UCU Pavilion | Moraga, Calif. | ESPN+ | 5 p.m. PT
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Pepperdine is looking to reverse course after a difficult, 69-49 home loss against San Diego on Thursday. In that game, the Toreros took an early 10-point lead, the Waves whittled said lead down to four points in the third quarter and USD held on with a 13-0 run in response to split the regular-season series.
Jane Nwaba led Pepperdine with 16 points for her sixth-consecutive double-figure outing of the year. The senior from Carson, Calif. is Pepperdine's lone double-digit scorer at 10.1 points per game, plus she leads the Waves with 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals.
Fellow guard Helena Friend was Pepperdine's only other player in double figures, as the Huntington Beach, Calif. finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting and tied her career high with six rebounds. Nine of Friend's points came in the second quarter en route to her third double-figure night in the last five games. Emerita Mashaire was Pepperdine's third-leading scorer with five points off the bench.
SCOUTING THE GAELS
Ranked seventh in the WCC with a 3-8 record, the Gaels are looking to get out of a four-game skid on Saturday. Head Coach Jeff Cammon's squad was picked sixth in the WCC Preseason Poll.
Saturday's game pits the eighth and ninth-ranked offenses against each other. Led by freshman guard Zeryhia Aokuso, the Gaels average 59.6 points per game on 42.7% shooting — the latter of which ranks fifth in the WCC. Despite the scoring output, the Gaels make 6.6 threes per game and connect on 33.3% of their attempts, which is tied for the third-best mark in the league.
The aforementioned Aokuso has been a revelation for the Gaels this year, leading the team with 11.3 points (on 47.6% shooting) and 2.6 assists per game. Despite being listed at 5-feet-10, Aokuso is the team's second-leading rebounder at 3.3 per contest. Ali Bamberger — a former Washington Husky from nearby Walnut Creek, Calif. — is SMC's other double-figure scorer at 10.0 points per game and leads the team with 4.5 rebounds per game. However, the Gaels have six players averaging at least 5.0 points per game.
Against the No. 16 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday, Aokuso led the Gaels with 16 points as the Bulldogs blitzed the Gaels 96-68. Despite shooting 15-for-28 (53.6%) from beyond the arc, Saint Mary's turned the ball over 19 times and allowed the Bulldogs to connect on 50% of their field goals.
UP NEXT: Pepperdine returns to Malibu for a three-game homestand to wrap up WCC play before competing in the 2024 Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship, held in Las Vegas, Nev. from March 7-12.
