SPORTSCOPE : Pepperdine Hosts UCLA in Opener

The Pepperdine women’s basketball team will play host to UCLA in a season opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves, 13-15 last season, are led by senior forward Shannon Frowiss, twice an All-West Coast Conference selection, and guard Aimee McDaniel, the WCC freshman of the year last season.

The Bruins, who finished 15-13 last season, are led by senior guard Rehema Stephens, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer last season with an average of more than 25 points a game.

The 44th Western Hemisphere Marathon, sponsored by the Culver City Department of Human Services, will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday and end in front of the Veterans’ Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City. An awards luncheon will start at about 12:30 p.m. in the senior citizens’ center in the building.

The UCLA men’s soccer team (17-3), defending NCAA champion and ranked third nationally, will play host to Portland (13-6) at 1 p.m. Sunday at the North Soccer Field.

The Bruins, who have won nine consecutive matches, had a bye in the first round of the playoffs as the top-seeded team in the Far West Region. Portland defeated Florida International, 1-0, in overtime.

The Pepperdine water polo team (21-6 overall, 7-2 in the Big West Conference) ends its regular season against No. 5 Cal State Long Beach (14-8, 6-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

The Waves, who have won 11 of 13 matches, and UC Irvine (19-7, 7-2) are tied for No. 2 in the nation and are also tied for first place in the Big West Conference. Long Beach is the Big West’s third-place team.

Last week Pepperdine won its 14th consecutive match at home, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 13-7. The Waves were led by Henry Rabello with four goals and Devin Hurst with three.

The No. 4 UCLA water polo team (17-8 overall, 3-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) will end its regular season at No. 7 USC (12-14, 0-5) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Bruins defeated the Trojans, 10-8, last week. Top UCLA scorers were Mike Wilmink and Bill Lenihan with three goals each.

The No. 5 UCLA women’s volleyball team (22-5 overall, 14-2 in the Pac-10 as the week began) will end its regular season by playing host to Oregon State (14-16, 5-11) at 7 p.m. Friday and to Oregon (14-14, 4-12) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the John Wooden Center.

The No. 4 UCLA women’s swim team (3-1 overall, 1-1 in the Pac-10) beat Arizona, 133-108, last week but lost to Arizona State, 154-146. Against Arizona, Bruin freshman Natalie Norberg won the 400-yard freestyle in 4 minutes 28.76 seconds, the 200 freestyle in 2:07.01 and swam a leg on the winning 400 freestyle relay team. Against Arizona State, Norberg won the 1,000-meter freestyle in 10:18 and the 500 freestyle in 4:55.92.