Monday, November 2
Portland, Ore.
7:00 PM
Pepperdine University
at
Portland State
11/1/2026 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PORTLAND, Ore. – Pepperdine women's basketball opens the season on the road at Portland State Monday night.
LAST TIME OUT
• Finishing the 2025-26 season 21-13 (10-8 WCC) the Waves tied program history for the longest postseason run, ending the historic season in the Super 16 of the WNIT.
• In her second season at the helm, head coach Katie Faulkner led Pepperdine to the best start in 45 years and fourth best ever.
• Earning the most wins in seven years, the Waves hosted the first ever postseason games in Malibu, going 2-0 at home in the WNIT, in the final full season in Firestone Fieldhouse.
• Returning junior Elli Guiney cracked the top-10 in multiple categories, coming in at second all-time for threes made in a season with 72, including 37 in conference play (also second all-time).
GAME NOTES
• Returning seven players, including three starters, Elli Guiney and Lina Falk were slated on the All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Making Waves in the WCC last season, Falk finished fourth in the conference in three point percentage at .400, followed closely by Guiney who finished with a .399 percentage.
• Guiney led the squad in scoring last season, averaging 15.0 points per game while Falk was second, averaging 11.7 ppg.
• As a team, Pepperdine was picked to finish fourth in the WCC preseason poll.
• Nationally, the Waves made the 5th best turnaround in the country last year going from 8 wins to 21, including the 4th best NET turnaround.
• Last season's trip to the Super 16 of the WNIT tied a program record for the longest postseason run ever.
• Also hosting the first postseason games in Malibu, the Waves were a perfect 2-0 in Firestone.
• As one of just two programs to return zero players to a roster, Faulkner and co turned an uncertain offseason into a historic season.
• Adding four newcomers to the roster, transfers Keandra Koorits and Maggie Mendelson join freshmen Freya Bijerk, Landrie Callahan, and Evelyn Martyn to make up the 12-person squad.
• Keandra Koorits, a junior transfer from Washington State, stays local to the WCC as her former school makes the jump to the newly formed Pac-12.
• Koorits played in all 34 games last season for the Cougars, starting in two games with an average of 6.7 points per game throughout the year.
• Maggie Mendelson, a graduate transfer to Pepperdine, most recently comes to Malibu from the Atlanta Vibe, a professional volleyball team in Major League Volleyball (MLV)
• Coming to Pepperdine from Penn State, the Utah native won the 2024 NCAA Volleyball National Championship with the Nittany Lions.
•Originally recruited as a dual-athlete, Mendelson spent the first two years of her collegiate career at the University of Nebraska.
• Outside of the United States, the Waves represent five different countries in Canada, Romania, Germany, Australia, and Estonia.
• Faulkner led one of the best program turnarounds in the entire country last season, in just one year's time turning an eight-win program into a 20 (and counting) game-winning program.
• Faulkner is the only head coach in the West Coast Conference who is also a mother, with her three children Baker, Laney, and Cali Jo.
• This season marks the 52nd and final games in Firestone Fieldhouse as the home for Pepperdine Basketball.
• Pepperdine will move into the Mountain at Mullin Park in the the 2026-27 season.
• The Mountain is a new 3,600-seat arena that will give Pepperdine a state-of-the-art competition venue, complete with a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms.
• Opening the first week of December, the Waves will open play in the new arena Dec. 6 against Boise State.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PORTLAND STATE
• All-time, Pepperdine is 5-1 against Portland State.
• The last meeting between the two programs was 2022 where the Waves came out victorious 65-59.
• The sole loss for Pepperdine came in a 71-75 loss in 2021.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
• Coming off a 6-25 year, Portland State has a lot of new faces.
• With 10 newcomers, this will be the first game for a newly formed Vikings squad.
• Kyleigh Brown returns to the roster, who led her team in points per game with 16.7 as well as threes with 37.
• With seven freshmen, Portland State is considerably young compared to Pepperdine, who only has three freshmen.
Tipoff for Monday's game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. 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 runs to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and most recently 2026.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
• Finishing the 2025-26 season 21-13 (10-8 WCC) the Waves tied program history for the longest postseason run, ending the historic season in the Super 16 of the WNIT.
• In her second season at the helm, head coach Katie Faulkner led Pepperdine to the best start in 45 years and fourth best ever.
• Earning the most wins in seven years, the Waves hosted the first ever postseason games in Malibu, going 2-0 at home in the WNIT, in the final full season in Firestone Fieldhouse.
• Returning junior Elli Guiney cracked the top-10 in multiple categories, coming in at second all-time for threes made in a season with 72, including 37 in conference play (also second all-time).
GAME NOTES
• Returning seven players, including three starters, Elli Guiney and Lina Falk were slated on the All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Making Waves in the WCC last season, Falk finished fourth in the conference in three point percentage at .400, followed closely by Guiney who finished with a .399 percentage.
• Guiney led the squad in scoring last season, averaging 15.0 points per game while Falk was second, averaging 11.7 ppg.
• As a team, Pepperdine was picked to finish fourth in the WCC preseason poll.
• Nationally, the Waves made the 5th best turnaround in the country last year going from 8 wins to 21, including the 4th best NET turnaround.
• Last season's trip to the Super 16 of the WNIT tied a program record for the longest postseason run ever.
• Also hosting the first postseason games in Malibu, the Waves were a perfect 2-0 in Firestone.
• As one of just two programs to return zero players to a roster, Faulkner and co turned an uncertain offseason into a historic season.
• Adding four newcomers to the roster, transfers Keandra Koorits and Maggie Mendelson join freshmen Freya Bijerk, Landrie Callahan, and Evelyn Martyn to make up the 12-person squad.
• Keandra Koorits, a junior transfer from Washington State, stays local to the WCC as her former school makes the jump to the newly formed Pac-12.
• Koorits played in all 34 games last season for the Cougars, starting in two games with an average of 6.7 points per game throughout the year.
• Maggie Mendelson, a graduate transfer to Pepperdine, most recently comes to Malibu from the Atlanta Vibe, a professional volleyball team in Major League Volleyball (MLV)
• Coming to Pepperdine from Penn State, the Utah native won the 2024 NCAA Volleyball National Championship with the Nittany Lions.
•Originally recruited as a dual-athlete, Mendelson spent the first two years of her collegiate career at the University of Nebraska.
• Outside of the United States, the Waves represent five different countries in Canada, Romania, Germany, Australia, and Estonia.
• Faulkner led one of the best program turnarounds in the entire country last season, in just one year's time turning an eight-win program into a 20 (and counting) game-winning program.
• Faulkner is the only head coach in the West Coast Conference who is also a mother, with her three children Baker, Laney, and Cali Jo.
• This season marks the 52nd and final games in Firestone Fieldhouse as the home for Pepperdine Basketball.
• Pepperdine will move into the Mountain at Mullin Park in the the 2026-27 season.
• The Mountain is a new 3,600-seat arena that will give Pepperdine a state-of-the-art competition venue, complete with a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms.
• Opening the first week of December, the Waves will open play in the new arena Dec. 6 against Boise State.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PORTLAND STATE
• All-time, Pepperdine is 5-1 against Portland State.
• The last meeting between the two programs was 2022 where the Waves came out victorious 65-59.
• The sole loss for Pepperdine came in a 71-75 loss in 2021.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
• Coming off a 6-25 year, Portland State has a lot of new faces.
• With 10 newcomers, this will be the first game for a newly formed Vikings squad.
• Kyleigh Brown returns to the roster, who led her team in points per game with 16.7 as well as threes with 37.
• With seven freshmen, Portland State is considerably young compared to Pepperdine, who only has three freshmen.
Tipoff for Monday's game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. 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 runs to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and most recently 2026.
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.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
