Jan. 24, 2004

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's basketball team pulled within two points with less than one minute on the clock, but they couldn't hold on as Loyola Marymount spoiled the Waves homecoming with a 60-54 victory on Saturday night.

Pepperdine drops to 8-10 overall and 2-3 in West Coast Conference play. The Lions improve their record to a conference-best 13-5 in the WCC.

Three Waves' players contributed double-figure scoring starting with Shandrika Lee who shot 50.0 percent from the field and recorded a team-high 15 points. Kelly Greathouse poured in 13 points and four rebounds while Jennifer Lacy added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Throughout the entire game, the lead changed on nine occasions and the scored tied seven times as neither squad built more than a six-point advantage. Pepperdine and LMU completed the game with near identical statistics across the board including shooting percentage. However, the difference in the game occurred down the stretch as the Lions, paced by the senior combo of Kate Murray and Andrianne Slaughter, scored 16 of the Lions' final 18 points to break open a 44-44 tie.

"I have to give a lot of credit to LMU tonight for their effort," Pepperdine head coach Mark Trakh said. "Our team played with a lot of heart but we came up short. We'll put this behind us and hopefully we'll learn from the experience."

Trailing by a pair, 44-42, the Lions' would close the game on a 16-10 run to earn the win. Murray tied the game at 44 with 8:02 remaining and Pepperdine never gained the lead again.

Nicole Funn turned in an overall respectable performance for the Waves with five points, four assists, one block, and three steals.

LMU's Slaughter finished with a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.

The Waves will pack their bags and head to the Pacific Northwest on Thursday to face San Francisco at 7 p.m.