MALIBU, Calif. – After four seasons as the head coach of the Pepperdine women's basketball program, Kristen Dowling has announced her departure from the program.
 
"I want to thank Kristen for her commitment and dedication to our women's basketball program for the past four years and wish her all the best in her future endeavors," said Director of Athletics Steve Potts.
 
Dowling's first year with the Waves was during the 2019-20 season where she led the team to a 16-15 overall record, including an 8-10 WCC record. The team reached the semifinals of the 2020 WCC Tournament after upsetting higher-seeded BYU.
 
Prior to Pepperdine, Dowling was the leader of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' program for seven years. She led the Athenas to six straight SCIAC regular-season championships as well four SCIAC Tournament championships and four NCAA Division III Tournaments. Along the way, the team had six straight 20-
win seasons including five seasons with at least 23 wins.
 
Dowling had two prior stints with the Waves, as she was a graduate assistant and academic advisor during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, then returned as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns, all under former head coach Julie Rousseau. The Waves went 32-27 during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and placed third in the West Coast Conference in 2011 and advanced to the WNIT.
 
Assistant coach Brian Rosario will continue to be the acting head coach for the Waves and a search will begin immediately for a new head coach.