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Pepperdine University Athletics

WBB Cheering WCC
Morgan Davenport

Women's Basketball

Women’s Basketball Opens Postseason Play in Third Round

LAS VEGAS, Nev.. – Pepperdine women's basketball (17-11, 8-8 WCC) will play San Francisco Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the third round of the West Coast Conference tournament.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Waves closed out the regular season with a pair of wins on the road at Portland and Seattle.
Lina Falk combined for 42 points throughout the week, averaging 21 a game.
• Pepperdine has gone 8-2 in the last ten games.
• Finishing the season with a WCC record of 10-8, it is the program's best since the 2018-19 season.
 
GAME NOTES
• Securing ten conference wins in the regular season, it is the most for the program in seven years, last doing so when posting a 10-1 conference record in the 2018-19 season.
• With nine nonconference wins, it is the most for a second-year head coach since DeLisha Milton-Jones in 2018.
• Closing out the regular season the Waves were second in the conference in field goal percentage (.445), opponent field goal percentage (.379), 3-point field goal percentage (.344) and defensive rebounds (29.0).
• Nationally, Pepperdine is 16th in defensive rebounds at 29.0 per game.
Elli Guiney, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has emerged as the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 14.4 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.
• Tenth in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has set four new career-highs in her sophomore year, dropping at least twenty in seven different games this year.
• With a three-point percentage of .399, Guiney currently sits tied for 5th in the record book for threes in a single season with 59.
• Through the past five games, junior Lina Falk leads the team in scoring at 15.8 ppg as well as field goal percentage with .444.
• Overall on the season, leads in accuracy from deep, shooting .400 from three.
• Athletically and academically a junior, Lina Falk comes to Malibu from Sacramento State.
• In the last five games, graduate Bella Green is shooting .389 from the field, including .429 from deep.
• Green is averaging 8.2 points through the last five, the most off the bench.
• This season, Green grabbed her 1,000th career rebound when the Waves were at LMU Feb. 12. 
• Green, a transfer from West Florida, logged her first division I minutes with the Waves this season, finding her stride as Pepperdine looks to extend their season in March.
• Graduate Meghan Fiso comes to Pepperdine from San Diego State, second on the team with an average of 11.1 points per game and 4.8 rebounds.
• Fiso's younger sister, Katie, is a sophomore at the University of Oregon leading her team with 15.1 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. 
• Having her third child and second girl Feb. 2, Faulkner returned to coaching just 10 days after the birth of Cali Jo.
• Last season, the Waves were undefeated in nonconference play at home for the first time in five years. 
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH SAN FRANCISCO
• All-time, Pepperdine is 42-50 against the Dons.
• Earlier this season, the Waves dropped the sole contest against San Francisco 70-81 on the road.
• The two squads have not met on a neutral court since 2013, resulting in a 48-80 loss.
• Pepperdine has not beat San Francisco on any court since the latter half of the 2022-23 season.
• The last time the Waves beat the Dons on a neutral court was 2002.
 
SCOUTING THE DONS
• Sitting at 17-13, including 9-9 through the regular season in conference play, the Dons earned a seven seed in the conference tournament. 
• Most recently, San Francisco defeated San Diego in the second round of the tournament yesterday. 
• Offensively, Candy Edokpaigbe is the only Don averaging double-digits with 18.0 a game.
• Defensively, Noelia Mourino leads San Francisco in rebounds with an average of 6.9 boards per game. 
 
Pepperdine will play the Dons tomorrow at 2:30 p.m in the Orleans Arena tomorrow afternoon. 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
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's basketball news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWBB.
 
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Players Mentioned

Elli Guiney

#2 Elli Guiney

G
5' 11"
Sophomore
TR
Meghan Fiso

#13 Meghan Fiso

G
5' 10"
Graduate Student
TR
Lina  Falk

#22 Lina Falk

G
6' 2"
Junior
TR
Irune Orio

#31 Irune Orio

F
6' 2"
Senior
TR
Ilinca Belegante

#10 Ilinca Belegante

G
6' 0"
Freshman
HS
Bella  Green

#3 Bella Green

G
6' 0"
Graduate Student
TR

Players Mentioned

Elli Guiney

#2 Elli Guiney

5' 11"
Sophomore
TR
G
Meghan Fiso

#13 Meghan Fiso

5' 10"
Graduate Student
TR
G
Lina  Falk

#22 Lina Falk

6' 2"
Junior
TR
G
Irune Orio

#31 Irune Orio

6' 2"
Senior
TR
F
Ilinca Belegante

#10 Ilinca Belegante

6' 0"
Freshman
HS
G
Bella  Green

#3 Bella Green

6' 0"
Graduate Student
TR
G