MORAGA, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (11-8, 2-5 WCC) heads north to take on the Gaels of Saint Mary's (11-9, 2-5) for the second time this season Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Waves lost a heartbreaker to Oregon State 68-69 at home Saturday.
• Elli Guiney matched her career high of 26 points to lead the team.
• Bella Green secured her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.
• The third and final Wave in double digits this weekend was Meghan Fiso, who secured 13 points of her own.
 
 
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.
• Up to this point in the season, Elli Guiney has made 40 from distance, 12 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 30th in defensive rebounds and 48th in free throw percentage at 75.7 percent.
• 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.
• Twelve in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has scored double digits 13 times, setting four new career-highs and leading the Waves in half of the games played.
• With a three-point percentage of .400, Guiney is second in the West Coast Conference in accuracy from beyond the arc.
• Through the past five games, junior Lina Falk is second on the team in scoring, tied with MEghan Fiso averaging 12.6 points a game.
• Falk leads the team from the charity line in the last five at .917 as well as from deep, shooting .421 on 19 attempts.
• Falk shattered her previous scoring record of 20 points last Thursday against Pacific, leading the team with 26 points, shooting 4-5 from deep.
• Athletically and academically a junior, Lina Falk comes to Malibu from Sacramento State.
 
• 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 9.4 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 SAINT MARY'S
• All-time, Pepperdine trails the series with SMC 37-50.
• On the road, the Waves have won just eight times with a record of 8-31.
• Last time out against the Gaels in Malibu, Pepperdine came out on top 60-52 for the first conference win of the season.
• Pepperdine has not beat Saint Mary's twice in the same season since 2019-20.
• The last win in Moraga for the Waves came in the 2018-19 season in the second round of the WNIT tournament.
 
 
SCOUTING THE GAELS
• Currently 11-9, Saint Mary's is tied with Pepperdine in conference play at 2-5.
• Last time out, Saint Mary's lost to Santa Clara at home 63-68.
• The Gaels two wins in conference come at the hands of San Diego and Pacific in back-to-back games after losing in Malibu.
• Without a player averaging double-digits, Edie Clarke, Abigal Shoff, and Addi Wedin all lead the team with 7.8 points a piece per game.
• Defensively, Clarke grabs 5.2 a game, the team high.
 
Tipoff for Thursday's game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. inside the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. The game 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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