Guard from Connecticut scored a career-high 24 points against New Mexico after winning conference honor
Pepperdine women’s basketball player Chloe Sotell is in an offensive groove.
The 6-foot freshman guard dropped a career-high 24 points in the Waves’ loss to New Mexico on Dec. 15. In the three prior contests, she splashed three-point and two-point shots in route to double-figure scoring performances.
Sotell, an 18-year-old from Connecticut, has gotten more comfortable each game during the Waves’ campaign.
“I have been adjusting to a new team and playing a new level of basketball,” she said. “At the beginning, it was a little iffy, but now things are starting to pick up personally for me and our team.”
Sotell’s performances in the three games prior to her career-high contest netted her the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week award on Dec. 9. Sotell averaged 14.3 points and 2.6 assists a game in the three games. In one of them, a 60-58 overtime victory over Nevada on Dec. 6, Sotell knocked down two three-pointers in the fourth quarter to give Pepperdine the lead.
She said winning the conference honor was exciting.
“I was in the locker room when one of my teammates showed me the post from the WCC saying I won,” Sotell recalled. “I was confused at first, but figured it was for the game against Nevada. I had a good run in the third quarter, but I feel like it was a good team win overall. I couldn’t have won it without everyone coming together and stepping up.”
Sotell scored 12 points against the Wolf Pack, all of them after halftime. She scored 19 points in Pepperdine’s 68-61 loss to Long Beach State on Dec. 1. Sotell scored 12 points in the Waves’ 84-58 win over Cal State Northridge on Nov. 27.
Sotell, who wears number 2 on the court, is the lone freshman on a Waves’ team that’s composed of experienced college players, but some of whom are first-year Waves. Sotell said adjusting to playing with her teammates and getting acclimated on the college basketball court has taken time.
Based on discussions with Waves head coach Katie Faulkner before the season’s tipoff, Sotell aimed to have an impact on offense and defense.
“Coming into the season, I wanted to set the tone for what her expectations for me were and what I wanted to bring to the team,” she said. “It has been a good challenge for me because all my teammates have been in college multiple years and have a lot of experience. We learn from each other, but I want to step up when needed. I want to do whatever I can do to help the team.”
In the Waves’ 91-54 loss to UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team at press time, on Nov 12, Sotell said she learned how important is to make an impact on the court in any way possible.
“That was a great test for us,” said Sotell, who scored seven points in the game.
Sotell’s father, Chris Sotell, a former college basketball player, first put a basketball in her hands when she was a tyke. Her brother, Lucas Sotell, is a college basketball player at Maryland. So since age 5, Pepperdine’s Sotell has constantly dribbled and shot against competition.
“Playing against my brother in the driveway — we were always competitive,” she recalled. “They pushed me to be competitive wherever I went.”
Sotell also played soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball as a youth, but the competition she got on the basketball court locked her into the sport.
“I also just like the game in general,” she said.
Sotell was a two-time national champion at Monteverde Academy in Florida before becoming a Wave. She rang off six points, four rebounds, three steals, and an assist in the national championship game against IMG Academy her senior season. Sotell began her high school hoops career at Stamford High in Connecticut. She was an all-state player as a sophomore and she led her team in scoring, assists, and steals.
Pepperdine had a 5-4 record heading into its game against Santa Clara on Saturday. The squad began the season with a win over Cal State Fullerton before losing two straight and then beating California Baptist and UC Riverside before the CSUN victory.
The Waves play at Washington State in Pullman, Washington, on Saturday, Dec. 28. On Monday, Dec. 30, they play at Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington. Pepperdine hosts San Diego on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.
Pepperdine, Sotell said, has lofty expectations.
“I want to do whatever I can do to help the team win,” she said. “If that means me scoring zero points, and we win that is fine. We have to continuing growing each day and buying into each other and our coaches.”
