The Pepperdine women's basketball team play two of a three-game home stretch this week.
 
GAME #17 – LA Strong –  Thursday (Jan. 23) Pepperdine vs. Pacific in Firestone Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. All first responders get in for free. Any large groups looking to attend should email alrick.drummond@pepperdine.edu
 
GAME #18  – Play 4 Kay–  Saturday (Jan. 25) Pepperdine vs. Gonzaga in Firestone Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. This is a pink-out game and cancer survivors will be recognized, highlighting Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier who was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2024. As a doubleheader in Firestone Fieldhouse, admission to the women's game will be free with a ticket purchased to the men's game at 7 p.m. against Pacific.
 
COVERAGE: Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Live stats can be found at www.pepperdinewaves.com
 
FIRE RELIEF: To assist those affected by the LA County fires, please visit this link for a list of ways to donate including the Pepperdine Strong Fund, the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu, the Malibu Urgent Care Center and more. Pepperdine is incredibly grateful to the firefighters and first responders who have kept thousands safe during these events
 
GAME DONATIONS: Fans are encouraged to bring chapsticks/lip balm, preservative free eye drops, throat lozenges or hard candies and sunscreen to the game for donations to Malibu Urgent Care who supplies these items to those affected by the fires.
 
SERIES VS. PACIFIC: Pepperdine is 9-19 all-time against Pacific, including a 6-7 record in Malibu. The last win for the Waves came in the latter portion of the 2021-22 season. Last time the two met, senior Helena Friend (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led the team with 13 points.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: One game away from .500, the 9-10 Pacific Tigers are amongst the top in the conference with a 5-4 West Coast Conference record. The Tigers beat similar nonconference opponent Long Beach State 81-65. Earlier this year, the Waves were defeated by the same squad 61-68. Leading the team with 267 points, graduate Liz Smith is averaging 14.1 a game. Defensively, senior Anaya James leads the squad with 72 rebounds.
 
SERIES VS. GONZAGA: Overall, the Waves are 30-51 against the Bulldogs. Last meeting Dec. 30, senior Ella Brubaker (University Place, Wash.) led the team with 17 points, followed closely behind by Chloe Sotell (Samford, Conn.) with 15. Senior Makena Mastora (Alameda, Calif.) led the team in rebounds with six. In Firestone Fieldhouse, Pepperdine is 16-20 against Gonzaga with the last win coming in the 2016-17 season.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Gonzaga is 7-2 in conference play with losses to San Francisco and Oregon State. Graduate Yvonne Ejim, the 2024 WCC player of the year, WCC defensive player of the year, Becky Hammon player of the year, and AP All American Honorable mention is picking up where she left off last season, averaging 20.8 points per game, scoring double digits in every game including a 35 point performance a week ago against Portland. Freshman Allie Turner leads the team in threes with 57, shooting 41.6 percent beyond the arc.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Just two hours south from Malibu, the Waves last played Jan. 18, defeating San Diego in a nail-biting fashion 68-66. Senior Maggie Vick (Morristown, Tenn.) led the team with a career-high 17 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field. Makena led the team in rebounds with eight, nearly having back-to-back games with double doubles after securing her first of the season against Saint Mary's two days prior.
 
IN THE WCC: Currently in the top 25 for scoring, senior Ella Brubaker sits at 21 averaging 11.0 points per game and freshman Chloe Sotell sits at 25 averaging 10.4 points per game. The sole freshman on the roster appears in multiple categories among the top 25. For threes per game, she is fourth amongst all players with an average of 2.1 a game as well as 11th in the same category when just regarding conference games. Senior Makena Mastora is 20th in rebounding for all games with an average of 5.2 a game. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Megan Harkey is 8th in the conference for blocks, averaging 1.2 a game.
 
SOARING SOTELL: Sitting ninth in the conference in assists and fourth in assist/turnover ratio, Chloe is serving a pivotal role for the Waves in her first season of collegiate basketball The Connecticut native leads the team with 33 three-pointers, averaging 10.4 points over the season. The last five games, Sotell has dished out an average of 4.8 assists.
 
BREWING WITH BRUBAKER: Tying her highest D-I performance three separate times this season, the senior is having her best year yet with the Waves. Leading the team, the Washington native has 176 points, averaging 11.0 a game. Currently 18th in the conference, the senior is averaging 1.3 steals per game.
 
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.