MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (7-2) will play two games in the inaugural Malibu Classic ; first, against the Bison of North Dakota State Tuesday (8-2) at 2 p.m. before playing the Coyotes of South Dakota (8-3) Wednesday at 6 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Waves started a four-game homestand with a 80-72 win over Cal State LA.
• Shorna Preston led the Waves for the third game in a row, with 20 points and 10 boards for her third consecutive double-double.
• Elli Guiney, who was not far behind Preston with 15 points of her own, shot .600 from the field Saturday.

 
GAME NOTES
• Starting the season 7-2, it is the program's best start to a season since 2000, before anyone on the squad was even born.
• The Waves have not lost a nonconference game at home since Dec. 18, 2023 against Northern Arizona.
• Through the nonconference slate, the Waves are second in 3-point FG percentage as well as first in defensive rebounds in the West Coast Conference.
• Nationally, the Waves are 10th in defensive rebounds and 30th in total rebounds with an average of 43.1 a game.
• Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has proven to be a difference maker nine games into the season.
• Ninth in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has scored double digits seven times, setting three new career-highs and leading the Waves in five of nine games played.
• Freshman Seleh Harmon has come off the bench in all eight games, scoring double digits in six of the nine games so far this season.
• In the West Coast Conference, Harmon is first in 3-point field goal percentage and 3 pointers per game with 2.7.
• With a three-point field goal percentage of .444, if the season were to end today, Seleh would land second all-time in the Pepperdine record book with the best shooting percentage from the arc since the 1990-91 season.
• Coming from Dodge City Community College, Shorna Preston from Australia is shining bright in the move to DI basketball.
• Leading the conference in rebounds, Preston is averaging 9.1 per game.
• Preston has had three consecutive games with a double-double, one away from cracking the record books with four consecutive, a feat that has not been accomplished since 2019.
• 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.
• With the new addition of Seattle to the West Coast Conference, the schedule format leaves Pepperdine not traveling to Oregon State or Pacific. 
• In addition, the Waves will not host San Francisco or Gonzaga to Malibu, just playing on the road against the two opponents.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH NDSU
• The Waves have never played the Bison.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
• Currently 8-2, NDSU is Pepperdine's biggest test yet, with the highest NET Rankings the Waves have seen this season at 49.
• On a six game win streak, the Bison's last loss came to Nebraska Nov. 16.
• The only other loss of the season for NDSU came at the hands of familiar WCC-foe Gonzaga, where the Bison fell 66-81.
• Avery Koenen leads her squad on the offensive side of the ball with an average of 18.2 ppg
• Defensively, Koenen also leads her team with 10.0 boards per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH SOUTH DAKOTA
• The Waves hold the advantage over the Coyotes, winning the sole matchup between the two squads 70-54 in 2013.
• Pepperdine has never travelled to Vermillion South Dakota with the only face off against the Coyotes coming in Malibu.
 
SCOUTING THE COYOTES
• Sitting at 8-3, South Dakota is coming off a 62-65 loss to Bradley on the road.
• The Coyotes are on a two-game losing streak, last winning on the road against Portland State 75-51 Dec. 3. 
• The only Coyote averaging double digits on the squad, Angelina Robles, leads her team with 15.1 points per game.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Patience Williams leads her team with an average of 8.3 rebounds per game.
 
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Wednesday. The games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available on 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
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