MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (3-1) plays one more in Malibu against San Jose State (0-3) before Thanksgiving Sunday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Waves won the third game of the season on the road 80-74 at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
- Elli Guiney led the team with a career-high 26 points.
- Shorna Preston has collected the most boards every game for Pepperdine, coming away from Northern Arizona with eight.
GAME NOTES
• Starting the season at 3-1, it is Pepperdine's best start in five years as they look to move to 4-1, the program's strongest beginning since the 2018-19 season.
• Through four games, the Waves have the No. 3 offense in the lead, including second in both threes and three-point percentage.
• With an average of 17.25 assists per game, the Waves are third in the league.
•
Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has proven to be a difference maker four games into the season.
• Fifth in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has set three new career-highs, two against DI opponents, most recently dropping 26 against NAU.
• Freshman
Seleh Harmon has come off the bench in all four games, impacting the style of play greatly each time.
• In the West Coast Conference, Harmon is first in 3-point field goal percentage (.550), and tied for first in 3 pointers per game with 2.8.
• Being just one of two teams at the DI level without a single player returning for the 2025-26 season, Coach Faulkner and her staff hit the transfer portal to build a team from scratch.
• Four freshmen are joined by eight transfers to make up the squad of 12.
• Five transfers come from Division one schools with a DII guard as well as a forward from a junior college in Dodge City, Kan.
• Outside of the United States, the Waves represent five different countries in Canada, Romania, Germany, Australia, and Spain.
•
Irune Orio, a transfer from Xavier, is the Spanish representative while
Ilinca Belegante comes from Romania.
Lina Falk is the sole German and Taija St. Maria represents the north as the Canadian on the Waves.
• The three Australians all come from different areas with one from Perth, one from Melbourne, and the final from the Gold Coast.
•
Makena Mastora, a graduate transfer into the Pepperdine women's basketball program last year, is now on the other side as an assistant coach.
• The Waves currently have one AP Top-25 team slated with a game at #11 USC Nov. 28.
• With the new addition of Seattle to the West Coast Conference, the schedule format leaves Pepperdine not traveling to Oregon State or Pacific.
SERIES HISTORY
- In just two games against the Spartans, the Waves are 2-0.
- The last matchup came in the 2009-2010 campaign, where the Waves won 83-66 on the road.
- The only time the two played in Malibu, Pepperdine defeated SJSU by a convincing score of 75-46.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
- With an 0-3 record, SJSU is coming off a loss to UC Santa Barbara.
- Early into the season, the Spartans are led by Maya Anderson, who is averaging 13.3 points per game, shooting .405 from the field.
- On the defensive side of the ball, Anderson also leads the squad, averaging over 8.0 rebounds per game.
- This is Jonas Chetteron's first year at the helm and first as a collegiate head coach.
As the Waves Around the World game, the international Waves on the squad will be spotlighted at halftime. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+ with stats available at
www.pepperdinewaves.com
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Pepperdine women's basketball has made four NCAA postseason appearances in its history, having won the WCC regular-season four times and the WCC Tournament on three occasions. With six All-American selections in program history, the Waves have also seen success in the WNIT Tournament which included a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit
here.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's soccer news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWBB.
