MALIBU, Calif. – South Dakota women's basketball has made the trek west to Malibu, California for the Malibu Classic this week. The Coyotes face Pepperdine (Wednesday, 8 p.m. CT) and UTRGV (Thursday, 6 p.m. CT) on the campus of Pepperdine University.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Pepperdine will be available to watch on ESPN+ Wednesday night. There will not be a live stream for Thursday's game against UTRGV.
• Fans can listen to the Coyotes on KVTK 1570 AM/101.5 FM on the Coyote Sports Network with the voice of the Coyotes Jerry Palleschi on the broadcast for Wednesday's game. Thursday's game will be on KVHT 106.3 FM.
 
INSIDE THE PEPPERDINE SERIES
• The Coyotes and Waves meet for the 2nd time in series history.
• South Dakota and Pepperdine have played once in program history, coincidentally in a holiday tournament hosted by the Waves.
• Pepperdine earned a 70-54 win over USD during the 2012-13 season at the Pepperdine Holiday Tournament around Thanksgiving.
• This is USD's first trip to Southern California since traveling to LMU during the 2023-24 season, where the Yotes defeated the Lions 78-73.
• Pepperdine also faces North Dakota State Tuesday afternoon.
 
INSIDE THE UTRGV SERIES
• The Coyotes and Vaqueros meet for the 5th time in series history.
• South Dakota and UTRGV are playing for the first time since being conference foes in the Great West Conference during USD's transition to Division I from 2009-2011.
• The two schools split their four previous meetings as GWC rivals, with UTRGV winning both games in 2009-10, and the Yotes winning both games in 2010-11.
• This is the first neutral site meeting between the two programs. The two teams split home and away games as conference rivals, resulting in 1-1 records in both Vermillion and Edinburg, Texas.
• UTRGV plays North Dakota State Wednesday afternoon, prior to USD's matchup with the Waves.
 
SCOUTING THE WAVES
• Pepperdine is off to a 7-2 start this season, the program's best start in 25 years.
• The Waves are a perfect 4-0 at home entering the Malibu Classic on the campus of Pepperdine, most recently defeating Cal State Los Angeles 80-72 Saturday.
• Pepperdine has three players scoring in double figures this season, led by Ellie Guiney's 14.2 points per game, converting at a .462/.422/.781 percentage.
• Shorna Preston is efficient at scoring her 10.7 points per game, converting field goals at a 51.4% mark. • Seleh Harmon is a strong three-point threat off the bench, hitting 44.4% from three to average 10.4 a game.
• The Waves are efficient scorers, ranking inside the top 100 in the NCAA in FG% (89th), 3PT% (72nd), and FT% (67th).
 
SCOUTING THE VAQUEROS
• UTRGV has gotten off to a slower start to the 2025-26 season, sitting at 3-5 prior to their Monday game at Stephen F. Austin.
• The Vaqueros are 1-3 away from Edinburg entering the week. They face SFA Monday before making the trip to Malibu for the Malibu Classic.
• UTRGV is on a four game losing skid, most recently falling at home to Texas, 110-45.
• Two players scoring in double figures for UTRGV, led by Jalayah Ingram's 17.0 points. Gianna Angiolet has only appeared in three games this season, but is averaging 10.3 points in those games.
• Charlotte O'Keefe is a scoring a rebounding threat for UTRGV, averaging 9.9 points and 13.3 rebounds.
 
RECORD VS THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
• This is South Dakota's 10th game against the WCC.
• South Dakota is 5-4 all-time against the West Coast Conference.
• Last season, USD lost to LMU in overtime, 71-67.
• USD has faced five WCC foes, and Pepperdine is only the third repeat opponent (LMU, Santa Clara).

RECORD VS THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
• The Coyotes have only played six games against the Southland Conference in school history with Thursday being the seventh.
• South Dakota is 4-2 all-time against the Southland.
• USD's last matchup with a Southland opponent was Incarnate Word during the 2018-19 season, a 96-43 win for the Yotes.
• USD is undefeated against two SLC opponents: Incarnate Word (2-0) and Lamar (1-0).
 
10 YEARS OF SCSC SUCCESS
• South Dakota women's basketball is in its 10th season of calling the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, a building that has treated the Yotes well, home.
• USD is 112-25 inside the SCSC since the building opened in 2016.*
• The Coyotes have had a winning record in the SCSC in 8 of the 9 seasons played in the SCSC.
• South Dakota has a record of 58-13 against Summit League foes in the SCSC, including a winning record against all eight current foes.
• USD is undefeated against two Summit League opponents in the building: North Dakota (8-0) and Kansas City (4-0)
• South Dakota has had two undefeated seasons at home during the SCSC era: 2018-19 and 2020-21.
• USD's first win against a Top 25 opponent during the Div. I era came in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center (No. 23/22 Iowa State on Nov. 28, 2018).
 
THE TRANSFER PORTAL ERA
• Over 1,500 women's basketball players entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. USD is one of at least six programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least seven programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least 7 programs with at least 9 transfers.
• Seven of USD's nine transfers come from Div. I programs, including two from Summit League foes.
• South Dakota's transfers hail from 6 states: California (1), Iowa (4), Minnesota (1), New Mexico (1), South Dakota (1), and Washington (1).
   
Stay up to date with all things Coyote Women's Basketball by following South Dakota Women's Basketball on Facebook /SDCoyotesWBB, X (Twitter) @SDCoyotesWBB, and Instagram @sdcoyotesWBB! #GoYotes