SAN BRUNO, Calif. – With West Coast Conference play on the horizon, conference teams are wrapping up their non-conference schedule this week.
All 12 teams are in action between Wednesday and Sunday this week, with 18 games remaining before conference play begins on Dec. 28. Pepperdine hosts South Dakota in its second game in the Malibu Classic to highlight three games on Wednesday. Portland travels to Eugene to face Oregon in a battle of Pacific Northwest powers on Thursday. Gonzaga heads to Springfield, Missouri, to face Missouri State to headline four games on Friday. Nine teams are in action over the weekend, highlighted by Pacific hosting Washington and Sant Clara facing North Texas in its second trip to the Lone Star State this season.
THREE IN THE TOP 40 IN BLOCKS
Three West Coast Conference teams rank in the top-40 in total blocks through Tuesday’s action. Santa Clara is sixth (77), Portland is 14th (64) and Oregon State is 38th (53). Individually, Portland’s Julia Dalan leads the nation in blocks per game (3.60 bpg) and Santa Clara’s Sophie Glancey is 13th (2.45 bpg).
CONFERENCE AMONG TOP-8 IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES
The West Coast Conference is among the top conferences in several statistical categories as we close out non-conference play. The conference is sixth in assists per game (14.3) and seventh in field goal percentage (41.6%), blocks per game (3.60) and total blocks (461) through Tuesday’s action.
PEPPERDINE’S BEST START IN 25 YEARS
Pepperdine, with an entirely new roster this season is 7-3 overall, off to its best 10-game start in 25 seasons. The Waves staged a hard-fought battle against North Dakota State (NET 48) in their Malibu Classic opener on Tuesday, falling 82-80, in overtime. They will look to rebound Wednesday night against another top-100 NET opponent in South Dakota. Pepperdine has a balanced scoring attack with Elli Guiney (14.5 ppg), Seleh Harmon (10.3 ppg), Meghan Fiso (10.0 ppg) and Shorna Preston (9.9 ppg). Preston is also averaging 9.0 rebounds per contest.
SENSATIONAL SOPHIE
Santa Clara forward Sophie Glancey, who is on the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday. She had a season-high 29 points with 8 rebounds in Sunday’s win at Grand Canyon. The 29 points matched the most scored by an individual in the West Coast Conference in a game this season. Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker posted 29 points against Colorado State on Nov. 13. Glancey was a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line in Sunday’s win, marking just the fifth time in program history a Bronco was perfect from the free throw line with at least 13 attempts.
SANTA CLARA AMONG THE NATION’S BEST IN REBOUNDS, BLOCKS AND ASSISTS
Santa Clara ranks sixth in the nation in total blocks (77) and 10th in blocks per game (6.42). The Broncos are seventh in the nation in total rebounds (548) and 11th in rebounds per game (45.7). Santa Clara is also 11th in offensive rebounds (188) and 13th in defensive rebounds (360). The Bronco’s 207 assists rank 19th nationally.
LIONS DOMINATION
LMU defeated Chapman, 81-27, on Tuesday night. The dominant defensive effort resulted in the lowest opponent point total in program history. It was also the third-largest margin of victory in program history. Guard Jess Lawson has posted a double-double in two of her past three games, highlighted by a 27-point, 12-rebound performance against Wichita State last week.
PORTLAND’S RECORD SECOND HALF AGAINST THE BEACH
Portland scored 63 points in the second half in its victory over Long Beach State last Thursday. It was the Pilots’ highest point total in a single half against a Division I opponent ever. Portland outscored Long Beach State, 63-30, in the half. Freshman Julia Dalan, the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week, totaled four blocks in the game and leads the nation, averaging 3.6 blocks per contest.
SAN DIEGO SWAT TOTAL IS BEST IN 12 YEARS
In San Diego’s 63-56 victory over UC Riverside on Sunday, the Toreros recorded 10 blocks. The block total is the most in a game in more than 10 years when they had 11 against Seattle U on Dec. 8, 2013.
TOREROS CONTROL THE BOARDS
San Diego is eighth in the nation in offensive rebounds (192) and 22nd nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.0). USD is 25th in the country in total rebounds (496).
GAELS AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
Saint Mary’s is 8-4 on the season with three straight wins following Wednesday’s 60-57 triumph over Fresno State. With the win over Fresno State, the Gaels are a perfect 5-0 against Mountain West Conference teams this season Three of those wins were on the road – Wyoming, San Jose State and Grand Canyon. SMC also defeated Nevada at home on Nov. 16.
FRESHMAN PHENOM LAUREN WHITTAKER
Gonzaga freshman Lauren Whittaker leads the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game. Her scoring average is second nationally among freshmen. Whittaker also leads the conference in field goal percentage (.578) and ranks second in rebounding at 8.4 rpg and field goals made (78), The freshman forward has increased her production during the Zags’ last six games, averaging 23.0 ppg, including 24 against Arizona State on Tuesday.
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
The West Coast Conference has the greatest percentage of international student-athletes of any Division I conference in the nation. Overall, 44.1 percent of rostered student-athletes across the 12 women’s basketball programs in the West Coast Conference are from outside of the United States. There is a total of 71 international student-athletes on rosters in the West Coast Conference this season. San Francisco boasts the most with 11 international student-athletes from eighth different countries. Oregon State has10 international student-athletes of its 15 from six different countries. Washington State has nine international student-athletes from eight different countries.