MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (8-3) welcomes the Matadors of CSUN (5-5) to Northridge Saturday at 1 p.m. before beginning West Coast Conference play.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Waves went 1-1 in the first-ever Malibu Classic, most recently coming off a 73-65 win over South Dakota.
• Meghan Fiso set a career high in both games, scoring a cumulative 36 points over the two-day stretch.
• Pepperdine is coming off the highest 3-pt field goal percentage of the season at .538, hitting seven last time out.

 
GAME NOTES
• Starting the season 8-3, it is the program's best start to a season since 2000, before anyone on the squad was even born.
• The Waves are chasing the best start in 40 years with a win Saturday.
• With the program's first season in 1975-76, a 9-3 start would give Pepperdine the 4th best start in program history.
• Through the nonconference slate, the Waves are first in opponent field goal percentage and defensive rebounds in the West Coast Conference.
• Nationally, the Waves are 9th in defensive rebounds and 40th in total rebounds with an average of 42.3 a game.
• Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has proven to be a difference maker as she has started all 11 games for the Waves this season.
• Although a sophomore, this season is Guiney's first playing significant minutes, transferring in from UNLV averaging just 4.4 minutes a game last year.
• Seventh in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has scored double digits nine times, setting three new career-highs and leading the Waves in six of 11 games played.
• Freshman Seleh Harmon has come off the bench in every game this season, scoring double digits in six of the 11 games.
• In the West Coast Conference, Harmon is first in 3-point field goal percentage and 3 pointers per game with 2.5.
• 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.
• Second in the conference in rebounds, Shorna averaged 8.9 a game.
• Preston comes off earning WCC Player of the Week, the first for the Waves this season and the first with Coach Faulkner at the helm.
• 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 CSUN
• In 29 matchups with the Matadors, the Waves hold the 25-4 advantage.
• At home, Pepperdine is a perfect 14-0 against the cross-town rival.
• Last season, the Waves defeated the Matadors on the road 84-58.
• The last loss to CSUN came two matchups ago in the 2014-15 season, suffering a 48-74 defeat in Northridge.
 
 
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
• Sitting at 5-5, CSUN comes off a 56-77 loss to Northern Arizona, a team Pepperdine beat 80-74 earlier this season.
• CSUN is 1-0 against WCC teams this season, defeating San Diego 63-48 at home Nov. 8.
• Overall, the Matadors are 1-2 against familiar foes this season, with the Waves going a perfect 3-0.
• Rita Nazario is the sole Matador averaging double digits for her team, putting up 13.7 points per game.
• Defensively, Jit Gbemuotor leads her team with 6.0 rebounds a game, 2.6 of those coming on the offensive side of the court.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. As a part of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team taking on Rice at 6 p.m., fans are encouraged to participate in the BOGO opportunity available for tomorrow only, with a ticket purchased to the women's game gaining free entry to the men's later that evening. Tickets can be purchased here. 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
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's basketball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWBB.