LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Pepperdine women's basketball (15-9, 6-6 WCC) will head to cross-town rival LMU (15-8, 9-3 WCC) before taking the team's third trip to the Bay, this time to face the Dons of San Francisco (14-10, 7-6 WCC).
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Waves won their fourth conference game in a row Saturday 78-62 in Firestone Fieldhouse.
• All five starters were in double digits, a feat not seen by the Waves since 2022.
• Lina Falk led Pepperdine with 19 points with the team shooting .508 from the field.
• Shorna Preston secured her sixth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds, surpassing the 1,000 point mark in her career in the first half.
 
 
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.
• 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 42nd in free throw percentage at 76 percent.
• Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has emerged as the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 14.2 per game.
• 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.
• Eleventh in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has set four new career-highs in her sophomore year, leading the squad in points per game.
• With a three-point percentage of .393, Guiney is four away from cracking the record books for most threes in a single season.
• Through the past five games, junior Lina Falk leads the team with an average of 15.6 per game.
• Leading the team from deep in accuracy at 41 percent, Falk is currently tied for eighth all-time in program history for three point percentage through a single season.
• Athletically and academically a junior, Lina Falk comes to Malibu from Sacramento State.
• In the last five games, graduate Bella Green leads the squad in field goal percentage, shooting .613.
• Green is averaging 8.8 points through the last five, the most off the bench.
• Just one away from 1,000 career rebounds, Green hopes to hit that milestone against LMU.
• Green, a transfer from West Florida, logged her first division I minutes with the Waves this season, finding her stride as the bulk of the season gets underway.
• Graduate Meghan Fiso comes to Pepperdine from San Diego State, second on the team with an average of 11.4 points per game and 5.0 rebounds.
• Fiso's younger sister, Katie, is a sophomore at the University of Oregon leading her team with 15.0 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.
• In her second year at the helm, this season will be Faulkner's first curated of players originating from her and her staff.
• Last season, the Waves were undefeated in nonconference play at home for the first time in five years. 
• Expecting a baby girl in February, Faulkner will have her third child in the middle of the 2025-26 campaign.
• Filling in the head coach role on the road while Katie Faulkner cannot travel due to the incoming addition to her family is assistant coach Brian Porth.
• In his second year with the Waves, Porth comes to Malibu from Southern Methodist University, where he spent two seasons.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH LMU
• All-time the Waves are 61-37 against the Lions.
• Earlier this season, Pepperdine lost to LMU in overtime 78-83 in Malibu.
• The Waves are 26-19 in Gersten Pavilion.
• Pepperdine has not beat LMU on the road since the 2021-22 season.
• Three Waves dropped double digits in the last matchup with the Lions as Elli Guiney leading the pack at 22, followed by Bella Green who scored 15 and Lina Falk with 10.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Sitting third in the WCC, LMU is currently 9-3 in conference and 15-8 overall.
• LMU's conference losses have come at the hands of San Diego, San Diego, and Gonzaga.
• Most recently, the Lions defeated Saint Mary's 75-69 in Moraga.
• With two averaging double digits, Jess Lawson and Maya Hernandez are near tied leading their team with 14.8 and 14.7 points per game, respectively.
• Defensively, Lawson leads the Lions with 7.7 boards per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH SAN FRANCISCO
• Pepperdine narrowly trails San Francisco all-time, 42-49.
• On the road, the Waves are 16-26. 
• The Waves have not beat the Dons since 2023, and have not done so on the road since 2020.
• Last season, Pepperdine suffered a 60-76 loss on the road as well as a 48-72 loss in Malibu.
• As a part of the split WCC schedule this year, this week's matchup with the Dons is the only of the regular season.
 
SCOUTING THE DONS
• 14-10 overall, San Francisco is 7-6 in conference play.
• Dependent on results Thursday, a win over the Dons Saturday could drop them below the Waves in the conference standings. 
• Most recently, San Francisco lost to Saint Mary's 55-72 at home.
• Candy Edokpaigbe, who is tied for 2nd in the conference in points per game, averages 17.0.
• Noelia Mourino leads her team on the other side of the court with 7.1 boards per game on average.
 
The Waves have two evening games this week as Thursday's is slated for tipoff at 6 p.m. with Saturday's game getting underway at 5 p.m. 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
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