let’s learn about a couple new teams and lot of new faces
The Bulldogs have finished off their non-conference schedule and are getting ready to kick off WCC conference play tomorrow as they take on USF at 9:00pm on the road. As such, let’s take a quick look at the state of the other WCC teams to date.
Loyola Marymount
Record: 6-2
NET Ranking: 176th
They haven’t had a particularly strong schedule to date, Sports Reference ranks theirs as -4.44 and Gonzaga’s as 10.2, but the Lions are posting some pretty solid team offense and defense numbers. As a team, they. are averaging 73.8 points per game while holding their opponents to just 61.8. Aarika Hughes’ has her team shooting nearly the same number of threes per game as last season (20.9), but the team has been more efficient with a 34.7% conversion rate from deep.
The Lions possess three players averaging 10 points per game, which come in the form of two guards and a forward. Their forward, 6’1” sophomore Maya Hernandez, leads the team with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Contrasting with this size, the two guards, Naudia Evans and Brandi Williams, both stand at 5’6”. Evans leads the two with her 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while Williams averages 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals.
The Zags will need to watch out for Naudia because her 7.3 assists leads the nation and her 2.6 assist/turnover ratio suggest she could be hard to disrupt.
Notable Transfers/Graduations
OUT — Amaya Oliver, 6’2, F, Sr. (9.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG) → Temple
OUT — Nicole Rodriguez, 5’9, G, Sr. (10.2 PPG) → SMU
OUT — Alexis Mark, 6′, F, Sr. (11.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG) → Portland
IN — Paula Reus, 6’1, F, Jr. (11.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG) New Mexico → Loyola Marymount
IN — Carly Heidger, 6’3, G, Soph. (9.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG) Samford → Loyola Marymount
Oregon State
Record: 2-7
NET Ranking: 180th
After a wildly successful ‘23-24 campaign, the Beavers fell victim to the cruel nature of the transfer portal amidst the temporary burial of the Pac-X. Having lost six of their top scorers from last year’s team, Oregon State have had a rough start to this season as 1 of their 3 wins have come against a non-D1 team and in their other two wins, they have a combined margin of victory equaling 12 points. They have yet to eclipse more than 66 points against D1 opponents and even including their win against Northwest Nazarene, the Beavs are averaging just 58.3 points per game.
Looking at their team statistics, it’s a pretty grim sight with the only notable value being their 50% two point field goal shooting, which looks nice, but then you look at the three point field shooting and your stomach drops: 20.7%. Rough times for the new-look Beavers.
Notable Transfers/Graduations
OUT — Dominika Paurova, 6’1, G, Fr. (5.5 ppg) → Kentucky
OUT — Donovyn Hunter, 6′, G, Fr. (6.8 ppg, 3.7 apg) → TCU
OUT — Talia von Oelhoffen, 5’11, G, Jr. (10.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5 apg) → USC
OUT — Timea Gardiner, 6’3, F, Soph. (11.6 ppg, 7 rpg) → UCLA
OUT — Raegan Beers, 6’4, F, Soph. (17.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg) → Oklahoma
IN — Catarina Ferreira, 6′, G, Sr. (1.2 ppg) Baylor → Oregon State
Pacific
Record: 4-6
NET Ranking: 215th
Pacific is one of two WCC teams that have already kicked off conference play as they faced off against the Oregon State Beavers earlier this month where the hosting Tigers escaped with a three point win in overtime. Given the notes above for the Beavers, I’m not sure what that means about the Tigers, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt since they fell to the Cal Golden Bears by just 8 points compared to the Bulldogs’ 21 point loss.
The leading scorers for Pacific are the same as last season with 6’1” senior forward Elizabeth Elliot leading the way with 13.5 followed by 5’9” senior guard Anaya James’ 13.0 points. And similar to last season, the Tigers will mainly look to take their shots inside the arc as they’re only taking 14.7 three pointers per game. However, this team seems to lack the well-rounded scoring from last year as they’re scoring just 62.8 per game in ‘24-25 compared to 71.3 in ‘23-24.
Notable Transfers/Graduations
OUT — Rosemary Schweizer, 6’1, F, Sr. (4.6 ppg) → Idaho
OUT — Cecilia Holmberg 6’2, F, Sr. (12.0 ppg, 4.8 rbd)
OUT — Liz Smith 5’9, G, Sr. (11.9 Pts, 3.5 Reb)
OUT — Kadie Deaton 5’11, G, Sr. (10.7 Pts, 4.0 Reb)
Pepperdine
Record: 5-4
NET Ranking: 191st
I’ll never understand how a school in Malibu can’t get their basketball program going in the right direction. While they have five wins, those wins have come against fairly low-end Big West type schools with two requiring overtime play to secure the victory and they just lost 82-59 to New Mexico earlier this week. This is reflected in their strength of schedule to date which is rated as -3.73 per Sports Reference.
That’s not to totally dismiss the Waves, I actually think they’re probably close to the lower-middle of the WCC pack, but their key statistics are pretty ho-him and their two leading scorers are averaging just 11.2 and 10.9 points per game. The Zags’ matchup against the Waves could be a sort of lithmus test for the Bulldogs since they should be winning this game and if they don’t, that says a lot about the floor for this squad.
Notable Transfers/Graduations
OUT — Holly Griffiths, 6’4, F, Fr. (3.1 ppg) → Fresno State
OUT — Hannah Rapp, 5’10, G, Jr. (4.2 ppg)
OUT — Jorynn Ross, 6’3, F, Fr. (6.1 ppg, 4 rpg) → Arizona
OUT — Jane Nwaba, 5’10, F, Sr. (10.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) → Vanderbilt
IN — Ornela Muca, 5’7, G, Sr. (1.1 ppg) Cal → Pepperdine
IN — Makena Mastora, 5’9, G, Jr. (7.4 ppg) St. Mary’s → Pepperdine
Portland
Record: 10-0
NET Ranking: 74th
Well, the Pilots are looking like stars this season. 6’0” senior guard Maisie Burnham is dropping 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting an impressive eFG 60.3%. Partnering with her is 6’0” senior guard Emme Shearer who isn’t far behind Maisie with 16.2 points, but even more notable, she’s snagging an absurd 2.8 steals per game.
The team is averaging 80.2 points per game and holding their opponents to 59.1 points. On a per game basis across the nation, they are seventeeth in steals with 13.1, fiftieth in blocks with 4.5, and sixteenth in two point field goal percentage with 55.7%. It’s entirely likely this team defeats Gonzaga in both games this season, but I want to point out a possible weak spot: rebounding. The Pilots are only averaging 33.5 total rebounds per game, which ranks 301st nationally, but are even worse on the defensive glass as they only grab 21.7 boards per game, which ranks 334th nationally. If there’s a chance, securing those offensive rebounds and nailing those second chance opportunities could be essential.
Notable Transfers/Graduations
IN — Trista Hull, 6’2, F, Jr. (4.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) Boise St. → Portland
IN — Alexis Mark, 6′, F, Sr. (11.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg) LMU → Portland