MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (4-1) came away from the Sunday matinee game against San Jose State (0-4) with a convincing 76-52 win to move to the program's best start in seven years.
 
"I love the team we are choosing to become," head coach Katie Faulkner said. "Unselfish basketball was on display tonight and that is the heart of our culture and who we want to be."
 
Leading all but 18 seconds this afternoon, the Waves had control of the game from the first whistle. Going on the best scoring run of the game with 10 at the end of the first quarter, Pepperdine held a comfortable 21-12 lead heading into the latter 10 minutes of the half.
 
Netting 50 percent of the threes shot in the second quarter, Seleh Harmon, Bella Green, and Elli Guiney contributed the majority of points going into halftime as the Waves held a narrow 17-16 edge in the second, tacking one onto their lead to make it double digits at the break.
 
Shooting an impressive .417 from the field in the second half, including .375 from distance, offense took no time off as the defense held the Spartans to just 24 points the entire half.
 
Guiney led the charge with 10 through the latter two quarters, followed closely by Harmon and Preston who had eight. The 24-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Waves since defeating CSUN 84-58 last season on the road.
 
Up next, the Waves head crosstown to Los Angeles to face the nationally-ranked No. 11 USC. Taking place as a matinee game on Black Friday with an anticipated tip of 2 p.m., the game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and live stats can be found on pepperdinewaves.com
 
GAME NOTES
 

• Guiney once again led the team, scoring 19 with three boards and two steals.
• Preston shot 5-9 from the field, with an impressive .750 behind the arc.
• For the first game this season, Shorna Preston was not the one to lead the Waves on rebounds as Meghan Fiso grabbed 10 throughout the game.
• Guiney also sported the best +/- on the afternoon at 29.
• Seleh Harmon scored 14 on the Spartans, including four from distance to keep her first in the West Coast Conference in both 3 point FG % as well as 3s made per game.
• With 76 points tonight, Pepperdine is averaging 74.0 points a game.
• The Waves came out of the gate with the best scoring of any quarter in the opening 10 minutes with 21.
• Matching the Spartans turnovers at 15, it is the first game this season the Waves have not lost the ball more than their opponent.

 
 
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
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