MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (10-7, 1-4 WCC) will host the Pacific Tigers (7-9, 2-3 WCC) Thursday night before battling against the Oregon State Beavers (13-5, 5-0 WCC) Saturday afternoon in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Waves lost to the Toreros of San Diego on the road Saturday afternoon.
• Meghan Fiso led the Waves with 16 points, followed by Lina Falk with 12.
• Shorna Preston was the sole player with double-digit rebounds at 10.
• Preston also led in assists for the first game this season, dishing out five.
 
GAME NOTES
• Finishing nonconference 9-3, it is the program's fourth best start ever and best in 45 years.
• Nine nonconference wins is the most for a second-year head coach since DeLisha Milton-Jones in 2018.
• Entering conference play, Seleh Harmon has made 30 from distance, 22 away from breaking into the top 10 in the record books.
• 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 17th in defensive rebounds and 44th in free throw percentage at 76 percent.
• Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has proven to be a difference maker as she has started in every game 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.
• Thirteenth in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has scored double digits 12 times, setting four new career-highs and leading the Waves in just under half of the games played.
• Through the five conference games, Guiney is sixth in field goal percentage, sitting at .490.
• Freshman Seleh Harmon has come off the bench in every game this season, scoring double digits in seven of the 15 games played.
• With 32 made from three, Harmon is second on the team in threes made, behind only leading-scorer Guiney.
• Harmon is the only freshman on the squad to have played in every game this season, cementing her place as the sixth man with an average of 22.9 minutes a game.
• 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 is averaging 9.7 a game.
• Preston earned the Waves' first player of the week this season from the West Coast Conference.
• Inching closer to cracking the record books, Preston is less than .40 away from cementing her name into the top 10 in rebound averages, which has remained stagnant since 1986.
• Graduate Meghan Fiso comes to Pepperdine from San Diego State, second on the team with an average of 11.4 points per game and 5.5 rebounds.
• Fiso's younger sister, Katie, is a sophomore at the University of Oregon leading her team with 15.5 points per game.
• 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 PACIFIC
• All-time, Pepperdine trails Pacific in the series 9-21.
• In Malibu, the Waves are 6-8, looking to be one step closer to .500 at home.
• Last season, Pepperdine dropped both contests, 41-68 at home and 43-58 on the road.
• The Waves will only see Pacific once this season as the addition of Seattle to the conference forces an uneven number of matchups between four opponents for Pepperdine, including the Tigers.
 
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Sitting at 7-9, including 2-3 in conference play, Pacific has picked up wins over Seattle and San Diego at home since the WCC slate began.
• The Tigers are searching for their first road win of the season in Malibu, currently 0-4.
• One of two averaging double digits on the team, Winner Bartholomew is the Tiger's leading scorer with 12.9 a game.
• Defensively, Sydney Wards leads the way with 5.8 boards on average per game.
• Most recently, Pacific lost 55-60 at home against Saint Mary's, Pepperdine's sole conference win thus far.
 
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH OREGON STATE
• With just four games against the short-term conference opponent, Pepperdine is 2-4 all-time against the Beavers.
• At home, Pepperdine is hunting for the first win against the Beavers with a current Firestone Fieldhouse record of 0-3.
• Last season, the Waves went 0-2 against Oregon State, losing the final regular game of the season at home 46-73, only losing by single digits in the Gill Coliseum 54-63.
• This will be the final matchup between the two teams in regular season conference play as Oregon State departs the WCC for the PAC-12 next season.
 
 
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Currently 13-5, Oregon State is a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
• The only road loss the Beavers have is to undefeated Vanderbilt in Nashville.
• With three Beavers averaging double digits, Jenna Villa leads the way at 15.6 per game.
• Néné Sow, who averages 6.3 boards per game, leads the Beavers on the glass.
 
 
Tipoff for Thursday's mental health game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear green. Saturday's "We Back Pat" game will be in honor of the late Pat Summit as well as our alumni game. Both 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
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