LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Making its 32nd appearance in the WCC Championships, the Pepperdine women's basketball team takes on San Diego in the first round of the Credit Union 1 WCC Championship on Thursday at noon.
All WCC Championship games will be live-streamed on ESPN+, while the championship game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
The Waves have a 28-28 all-time record in the WCC Tournament and have won at least one conference tournament game in 19 of the program's 31 appearances. Historically, the Waves have a 2-5 record as the 9-seed and a 5-3 record against 8-seeds in the WCC Championships. However, San Diego has been Pepperdine's toughest out in the WCC Tournament. The Waves have a 1-5 record against the Toreros (.167) in postseason play.
This year, the Waves and Toreros split the season series with the road team winning each matchup: Pepperdine beat USD 53-52 in the WCC opener on Jan. 4, while USD countered with a 69-49 win in Firestone Fieldhouse on Feb. 15.
GAME #30: #9 Pepperdine vs. #8 San Diego | Thursday, March 7 | Orleans Arena | Las Vegas, Nev. | ESPN+ | Noon PT
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Looking to advance in the tournament in consecutive seasons, Pepperdine is the 9-seed in the WCC Championships for the second-straight season; last year, the Waves beat 8-seed Santa Clara 63-60 before falling to 5-seed BYU in the second round.
Pepperdine will once again rely on the services of WCC Honorable Mention selection Jane Nwaba, who averages 10.4 points., 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game — all of which lead the Waves. The senior from Carson, Calif. is one double-double away from entering Pepperdine's top-10 career and single-season double-double rankings. Against San Diego in January, Nwaba capped off her 14-point, 12-rebound double-double with a game-winning layup in Pepperdine's 53-52 road win. In the rematch in Malibu, she led Pepperdine with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Waves look to counter USD's size with its frontcourt of Megan Harkey and All-WCC Freshman Team selection Jorynn Ross — the former is coming off a career-high 12 points against Saint Mary's, while the latter is the team's second-leading rebounder at 4.0 boards per game.
Elsewhere in the rotation, Helena Friend is Pepperdine's second-leading scorer at 6.3 points per game and has averaged 2.5 steals in the last two games. The Waves have only one double-figure scorer in Nwaba, yet five players average at least 5.0 points per game.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
Winners of two out of their last five games, the Toreros come into Vegas as the 8-seed and with a 49-43 all-time record against Pepperdine.
Although San Diego is the only school trailing Pepperdine in made threes per game (3.4), the Toreros make up for their lack of shooting with strong rebounding and interior play. Thanks in part to Kasey Neubert — who ranks second in the conference at 9.8 rebounds per game — the Toreros are tied for first in the WCC in offensive rebounds (12.8 per game) and are fourth in rebounds per game (35.7) and rebounding margin (+1.3).
All-WCC Second Team selection Veronica Sheffey (12.3 points per game) leads the way for USD and is the conference's ninth-leading scorer. She is also third in the WCC with 5.1 assists per game.
UP NEXT: Should Pepperdine advance, it will play 5-seed Pacific on March 8 at noon. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
