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FRESNO, Calif. \u2013 Pepperdine women’s basketball (5-2) heads north to play Fresno State (5-3) in the final road game of the non-conference slate.
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\nLAST TIME OUT<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe Waves remained undefeated in Malibu with a 69-58 victory over the California Baptist Lancers.\u00a0
\n\tShorna Preston<\/a> led the Waves with 21 points and 13 rebounds, putting up Pepperdine’s first double-double of the season.
\n\tPreston is one of four in the nation to post 20+ points, 13+ rebounds, 3+ steals, and 2+ blocks in one game as of Wednesday, joining Sarah Strong of UConn, Madina Okot of South Carolina, and Taliyah Logwood of Texas Southern.
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\nGAME NOTES
\n\u2022 Starting the season at 5-2, it is Pepperdine’s best start since the 2019-20 season as they chase the best start since 2006-07 with a win at Fresno St.\u00a0
\n\u2022 Through seven games, the Waves are second in 3-point FG percentage as well as first in defensive rebounds in the West Coast Conference.
\n\u2022 Nationally, the Waves are 31st in defensive rebounds and rose over 30 points in the NET rankings after the victory over CBU.
\n\u2022 Elli Guiney<\/a>, the sole sophomore on the Waves squad, has proven to be a difference maker seven games into the season.
\n\u2022 Fifth in the WCC in scoring, Guiney has scored double digits six times, setting three new career-highs and leading the Waves in five of seven games played.
\n\u2022 Freshman Seleh Harmon<\/a> has come off the bench in all seven games, impacting the style of play greatly each time.
\n\u2022 In the West Coast Conference, Harmon is first in 3-point field goal percentage (.486), and 3 pointers per game with 2.6.
\n\u2022 Coming from Dodge City Community College, Shorna Preston<\/a> from Australia is shining bright in the move to DI basketball.
\n\u2022 Leading the conference in rebounds, Preston is averaging 8.7 per game.
\n\u2022 Coming off a career-best in scoring and rebounds against a Division one opponent, Preston is looking to keep it rolling against the Bulldogs.
\n\u2022 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.
\n\u2022 Four freshmen are joined by eight transfers to make up the squad of 12.
\n\u2022 Five transfers come from Division one schools with a DII guard as well as a forward from a junior college in Dodge City, Kan.
\n\u2022 Outside of the United States, the Waves represent five different countries in Canada, Romania, Germany, Australia, and Spain.
\n\u2022 Irune Orio<\/a>, a transfer from Xavier, is the Spanish representative while Ilinca Belegante<\/a> comes from Romania. Lina Falk<\/a> is the sole German and Taija St. Maria represents the north as the Canadian on the Waves.
\n\u2022 The three Australians all come from different areas with one from Perth, one from Melbourne, and the final from the Gold Coast.
\n\u2022 Makena Mastora<\/a>, a graduate transfer into the Pepperdine women’s basketball program last year, is now on the other side as an assistant coach.
\n\u2022 With the new addition of Seattle to the West Coast Conference, the schedule format leaves Pepperdine not traveling to Oregon State or Pacific.\u00a0
\n\u2022 In addition, the Waves will not host San Francisco or Gonzaga to Malibu, just playing on the road against the two opponents.
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\nSERIES HISTORY<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Waves look to take the advantage in the all-time series with the Bulldogs, currently an even 7-7 through 14 matchups.
\n\tPepperdine has never beat Fresno St. on the road, posting an 0-5 record in the Save Mart Center.
\n\tMost recently meeting in 2023-24, the Waves have not beat the Bulldogs since the second-to-last meeting in the 2011-12 season, taking Fresno to double overtime in Malibu, winning 81-78.\u00a0
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\nSCOUTING THE BULLDOGS<\/p>\n
\n\tCurrently 5-3, Fresno St. is coming off a 61-48 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2025 Big Easy Classic.
\n\tThe Bulldogs are 1-1 against WCC opponents so far this season, beating Seattle while falling to Santa Clara.\u00a0
\n\tAshlyn Rean and Emilia Long lead the Bulldogs offensively, the two averaging double digits with 12.7 and 11.4 ppg, respectively.
\n\tDefensively, Rean is at the top of the table with an average of 7.0 boards per game.
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\nTipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available on www.pepperdinewaves.com<\/a>
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\nABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
\nPepperdine 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.
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\nTICKETS
\nFor more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here<\/a>.
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\nFOLLOW
\nTo stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women’s soccer news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWBB.
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\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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