Junior forward Shorna Preston high-fives two teammates at Blue and Orange Madness in Firestone Fieldhouse on Oct. 3. Preston has recorded six double-doubles on the season so far. Photos by Melissa Houston
High tides occur at the start of every day when the sun begins to rise, according to Surf Forecast. As the day starts, the ocean’s waves get stronger and reach further on the shore.
The Pepperdine Women’s Basketball team had their own high tide at the start of the 2025-26 season, securing their best start in 45 years, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The Waves got off to a fast 9-3 start, a feat they haven’t achieved since Ronald Reagan was elected as President of the United States of America.
“It’s really been a tremendous season so far for the women,” Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said. “I believe the program’s only been around for 50 years, so it’s pretty remarkable.”
The Road to Success
En route to their historic start, the team didn’t have a fairytale beginning to the 2025-26 season. After winning their first two games, they suffered a lopsided 85-56 loss to Utah Valley, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“What I’m really proud of is the growth we’ve seen, learning from those losses,” Head Coach Katie Faulkner said. “It’s just a testament to our ability to remain process-focused, and we can be the best team we can in March still.”
Sophomore guard Elli Guiney said the losses her team has suffered have led to moments of reflection within the program. The loss to Utah Valley in particular felt like a punch in the mouth, forcing the team to truly take the time to look at what went wrong.
“Putting ourselves in that position to watch the stuff you don’t want to watch, take the hard lessons and not just move on right away — that was really important,” Guiney said. “Being willing to look at our mistakes and actually be held accountable to get better — that’s been huge for us.”
Graduate guard Meghan Fiso said the learning her team has been doing started on a smaller scale — working on little mistakes that needed to be tightened up on. As a result, the team has seen overall improvement as a whole.
“Refocusing on something that we didn’t do well in the past game and improving in small ways every single day has made us grow in big ways,” Fiso said.
As the season has progressed, the Waves have worked a 15-9 record overall with a 6-6 West Coast Conference record, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The Waves are already off to a better start than last year, where they finished with an 8-22 overall record and went 3-17 in the WCC.
“Even though we had a challenging year, you knew there were better days ahead when Katie implemented her culture and got the right people on the bus,” Gardner said. “I didn’t expect we would do this well this fast, but at the same time, it doesn’t surprise me.”
Sophomore guard Elli Guiney waves to the crowd at Blue and Orange Madness in Firestone Fieldhouse on Oct. 3. Guiney said her team is constantly learning through every win and loss.
Fresh Waves
This year’s success comes in the second year of the Katie Faulkner era. After last year’s lopsided record, Faulkner brought in an entirely new 12-man roster, according to previous Graphic reporting.
“When you meet some people, you know they’re winners; and Katie’s one of those people,” Gardner said. “The way she carries herself, her confidence, her persona — you know a winner when you see one. She described building a program that embraced and really leaned into the unique and positive culture of Pepperdine.”
Players on the team said there was a lack of chemistry at the start of their season, an expected result from each player being brand new to the ‘Bu. Throughout the summer, their trainings, both on and off the court, focused on building trust among the team in hopes it would translate to success on the floor.
“We’re just really finding our roles and wanting to utilize each individual, but playing for the team, we play unselfish basketball all the time,” Guiney said.
The players brought into the program have already seen great individual success on the court. Junior forward Shorna Preston recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds against Cal Baptist on Dec. 3, according to Pepperdine Athletics. The players said this success is a testament to the program and the culture as a whole.
“Being in the right place has really benefited me,” Fiso said. “I’m a part of a team that believes in me. I have a coaching staff who pours into me every single day and sees what I’m capable of. They have that belief in me, and my teammates have the belief in me which has given me the confidence to really just step into who I know that I am as a player, person and leader on the team as well.”
Fiso came to Malibu after winning the Mountain West Conference Championship with San Diego State last year. Even though Fiso personally knows what it takes to win, she said Faulkner has been harping on the team about building a program centered around growth rather than success.
“The culture we’ve been building and really focused on building this whole time — it’s really no surprise that it’s warranting the results it has been,” Fiso said. “Being a culture-based program has helped lift us forward and probably will continue to do so.”
While Pepperdine came out hot at the start of season, the end goal is to finish strong in March. Even with an improved record, the Waves aren’t fulfilled with just that.
“We’re not satisfied,” Guiney said. “We want to continue building off that. We’re super process-driven. I want to be able to compete when it comes to March and tournament time.”
Pepperdine will continue through their season until the WCC Tournament begins March 5 in Las Vegas, Nev.
“We’re taking our confidence with us, but also we still have our certain level of humility,” Fiso said. “We know we have to keep building in order to be where we want to be. Focusing on getting better every single day, the goal still remains the same: make it to March.”
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