LAS VEGAS, NEV. – The Pepperdine women's basketball team opens up postseason play in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament Thursday afternoon at the Orleans arena.
 
GAME #30 – WCC Tournament Game 1 –  Pepperdine (8-20, 3-16) vs. San Diego (6-23, 2-18) at the Orleans Arena Thursday afternoon at 12 p.m.
 
COVERAGE: The games will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required). Live stats can be found at www.pepperdinewaves.com
 
SERIES VS. SAN DIEGO: Overall, the Waves hold a 51-44 winning record over the Toreros, including a 2-0 record this season. Last time Pepperdine played San Diego senior Maggie Vick put up a career-high 17 points, followed closely behind by senior Makena Mastora and freshman Chloe Sotell who had 15 and 10 points respectively. Mastora led on the defensive front with eight rebounds and when the Toreros were in Malibu earlier in the season, Pepperdine won with a final score of 63-49, with senior Ella Brubaker leading the squad with 14 points.
 
SCOUTING THE TOREROS: San Diego's two conference wins this year came in the same week, beating Pacific and Santa Clara Feb. 13 and Feb. 15. Winning both games with a combined nine points, Kylie Horstmeyer led her team in both victories. Earning a WCC honorable mention selection this week, the senior is averaging 12.9 points per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: In the regular season finale at Firestone Fieldhouse, Pepperdine celebrated senior night against the Oregon State Beavers. Seniors Ornela Muca and Makena Mastora were the two Waves in double digits, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively. the Waves were more aggressive than the Beavers on defense with six steals, but dropped the contest 46-73.
 
IN THE WCC: The sole freshman on the roster, Chloe Sotell, appears in multiple categories among the top 25, including points per game (#24), assists per game (#14), assist/turnover ratio (#9) and three's per game (#4). For threes per game, she is fourth amongst all players with an average of 2.0 a game as well as 4th in the same category when just regarding conference games. Senior Makena Mastora is 20th in rebounding for all games with an average of 5.0 a game. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Megan Harkey is 8th in the conference for blocks, averaging 1.1 a game.
 
SOARING SOTELL: As the only freshman on the team this season, Chloe Sotell is the Waves' leading scorer with 299 total points, serving a crucial role in her inaugural year playing collegiate basketball. Sitting fourth in the conference games with an average of 2.0 threes per game, Chloe is only one of two freshmen in the top 25 across the entire conference. The Connecticut native has 15 games with double digits, averaging 10.3 a 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.
 
THE BRACKET: If Pepperdine were to win Thursday afternoon, the second round would be against the seventh ranked Pacific Tigers on Friday. Beyond that, the Waves would continue to make their way up the rankings against sixth ranked Saint Mary's on Saturday and third ranked Washington State on Sunday before seeing two-seeded Portland. If Pepperdine were to beat the Pilots Monday in the semi finals, the championship game would be between the winner of first seeded Gonzaga and the opponent that emerges from the top half of the bracket. The entire bracket is listed below:
 
Thursday, March 6 – First Round
12:00 p.m. – Game 1: No. 10 seed Pepperdine vs. No. 11 seed San Diego (ESPN+)
 
Friday, March 7 – Second Round
12:00 p.m. – Game 2: No. 8 seed Santa Clara vs. No. 9 seed LMU (ESPN+)
2:30 p.m. – Game 3: No. 7 seed Pacific vs. Game 1 Winner (ESPN+)
 
Saturday, March 8 – Third Round
12:00 p.m. – Game 4: No. 5 seed San Francisco vs. Game 2 Winner (ESPN+)
2:30 p.m. – Game 5: No. 6 seed Saint Mary's vs. Game 3 Winner (ESPN+)
 
Sunday, March 9 – Quarterfinals
11:30 a.m. –Game 6: No. 4 seed Oregon State vs. Game 4 Winner (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. – Game 7: No. 3 seed Washington State vs. Game 5 Winner (ESPN+)
 
Monday, March 10 – Semifinals
12:00 p.m. –Game 8: No. 1 seed Gonzaga vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+)
2:30 p.m. – Game 9: No. 2 seed Portland vs. Game 7 Winner (ESPN+)
 
Tuesday, March 11 – Championship Game
1:00 p.m. – Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (ESPN2)