Pepperdine University
Portland
Women's Basketball Travels to Portland This Saturday
2/9/2024 9:57:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team wraps up its annual Pacific Northwest trip at Portland on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game, which will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams, will be livestreamed on ESPN+.
The Waves are looking for their first win in the Chiles Center since the 2009-10 season, although Pepperdine did get close to earning its first win in that arena in a 101-94 overtime loss in 2020-21. Pepperdine and Portland are tied 38-38 in the all-time series.
From here, Pepperdine returns home to host San Diego next Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. before taking the final road trip in WCC play to Saint Mary's next Saturday.
GAME #24: Pepperdine at Portland | Saturday, Feb. 10 | Chiles Center | Portland, Ore. | ESPN+ | 3 p.m. PT
SCOUTING THE WAVES
During Pepperdine's first meeting with Portland in Firestone Fieldhouse, the Pilots connected on 54.1% of their field goals and 45.5% of their threes en route to winning 82-49. Emme Shearer led the Pilots with 18 points and was one of three players to finish in double-figures for the defending WCC Tournament champs.
In a game pitting two promising Australian freshmen against each other, Pepperdine's Holly Griffiths led Pepperdine with a career-best 14 points (on 6-for-13 shooting) and five rebounds. Helena Friend also finished in double-figures with 11 points; defensively, she led Pepperdine with four steals.
On Thursday night, Pepperdine opened its annual Pacific Northwest trip with an 83-46 loss to the No. 19 Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Waves' defense gave Pepperdine opportunities to get back in the game in the second quarter, yet Gonzaga's three-point shooting blew the game open in the second half en route to the Bulldogs' 17th-straight win.
Jane Nwaba led Pepperdine with a near-double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while the Waves' offense got an early spark from Emerita Mashaire, who scored five of her seven points in the first quarter. Playing against a Bulldog frontcourt that had the Waves in foul trouble all night, Jorynn Ross and Maggie Vick chipped in six points apiece.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Riding a five-game win streak — the second-longest in the WCC — Portland has won its last five games by an average of 18.0 points per game. That win streak helped the Pilots shake off two early WCC losses and cement themselves as the league's second-place team behind Gonzaga.
On Thursday night against LMU, the Pilots needed a third-quarter comeback to hold off the upstart Lions, who led by as many as 15 points in the first half. Freshman Dyani Ananiev scored 14 of her team-leading 16 points in the second half as the Pilots used a 10-0, third-quarter run to get back in the game. Thursday was the sixth time this year Portland has trailed at half and won.
Defensively, Portland has the WCC's leading blocker in Lucy Cochrane (3.3 per game) and the leader in steals in Emme Shearer (2.3 per game). The Pilots allow the second-fewest points in the WCC (60.9 PPG) and limit opponents to a conference-low 38.3% field goal shooting.
