Former Lake City star Katie Faulkner is making waves as Pepperdine women's basketball coach

4 days ago 2

Jan. 7—Katie Faulkner didn't move to Malibu, California, for sunshine and coastline beaches — though they're certainly welcome side benefits.

The former Lake City High and University of Montana basketball standout relocated to Malibu for a reclamation project. She wants to turn Pepperdine women's basketball into a winner.

The Waves took baby steps in her first season a year ago, and they just had their best nonconference campaign in 45 years at 9-3.

Faulkner is thankful for the progress. But there are many steps ahead if the Waves hope to, well, make waves.

In a way, her second season is like a second first season. Her whole roster turned over with the departure of nine seniors and a transfer.

So Faulkner had to hit the transfer portal fast last spring. She brought in eight to go with four incoming freshmen.

"Last year was like Year Zero and this is like Year One," Faulkner said in an interview before Pepperdine played Gonzaga on Dec. 30 at McCarthey Athletic Center. "Fun fact: We're one of two Division I teams in the country to have an entire new roster. SMU is the other."

Faulkner had an extended holiday with family. Pepperdine flew to Spokane on Dec. 26, two days before playing at Washington State. She spent a lot of time with her parents and two brothers.

She and her husband, Derek, have two children, a boy and a girl, and will welcome another girl in a little more than three weeks. Faulkner is due Feb. 2.

This is the first pregnancy she's carried into a season.

"My first thought was 'how are we going to do this?'" Baker said. "You just do it. Honestly it's been really easy because you just forget you're pregnant. You're just coaching ... until at night and you're craving a double cheeseburger. You're tired but I have a lot of help. My husband's been amazing and my staff is great and they can run our practices if they need to."

Pepperdine's trip to eastern Washington to open West Coast Conference play was an eye opener. They fell 66-63 at WSU, and Gonzaga pulled away 75-52.

The Waves bounced back last Friday, topping Saint Mary's 60-52 for their 10th win — two more than last year and double the victories the year before Faulkner arrived.

The former Katie Baker, who turns 35 next month, has known nothing but winning. A Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy graduate, she led Lake City to a state championship in 2006-07 before going on to being a three-time All-Big Sky Conference First Team selection and academic all-conference all four years.

Faulkner, a 6-foot post, was a three-time Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year.

Her coaching philosophies have been shaped by one of the winningest coaches in Big Sky history, Robin Selvig, and Oregon State coach Scott Rueck and Washington coach Tina Langley. Faulkner was an assistant at OSU for five years before spending three at UW prior to arriving at Pepperdine.

"So I just feel like my pedigree has come from servant-led winners," Faulkner said. "With Scott, I just sort of stood back and took notes, watching everything he does. Then Tina, she rebuilt an entire culture that was very broken. You can't do it all like they do. I've learned that, and I've tried to do it my own way. I'm kind of finding myself through that."

It's been six years since Pepperdine has had a winning season.

This season has been a year of building culture. Faulkner is emphasizing process over results on the scoreboard.

"Every bit of me is competitive and wants to get this going," she said. "It kills me to be process-focused sometimes because I just want to get there. People ask me all the time if I'm surprised by how we're doing. I'm like, no, I'm not surprised. Like I know what culture and what character can do together in a competitive environment. We're ahead of schedule in a sense. But I also know it takes time because you need your system, you need your kids."

Faulkner wants to build a Top 25 program.

"This is a team I'm really proud of," Faulkner said. "We have 12 new players that have all come from different backgrounds, different teams. For some of them this is their third landing spot, and they will tell you this is the closest team they've ever been on. And I'm really proud of that."

Read Entire Article