MALIBU, Calif. – Celebrating Senior Day in style, the Pepperdine women’s basketball team won its fourth straight conference dual by defeating University of San Francisco 72-67, on Saturday afternoon, in Firestone Fieldhouse.
“It was a great way to send the seniors off. We’re going to the WCC tournament playing well, but we still have to work hard on some things that have been hampering us,” said head coach Julie Rousseau. “All our focus and attention is on the tournament right now.”
The Waves maintained a lead for most of the first half, going on a nine-point scoring run early in the game to bring the score to 14-8, in the first seven minutes. However, with 4:23 remaining in the half, the Dons had narrowed the margin by one point, 26-25 and Shay Rollins sunk three shots from beyond the arc in less than two minutes to give San Francisco a six point lead at the half, 34-28.
Rollins led in scoring at halftime with 12 points, while sophomore Miranda Ayim (London, Ontario, Canada) recorded 10 points. The Waves were shooting 42.3% on field goals to the Dons 40.6%. San Francisco shot an impressive 53.8% on three-pointers to Pepperdine’s 28.6%.
Returning from halftime, the Waves focused on closing the scoring gap and using its speed to execute fast-breaks. Jessica Ross (Gilroy, Calif./ Notre Dame HS) scored two three-pointers and Senior Daphanie Kennedy (Oakland, Calif. / Kearney HS) added seven points of her own in the first seven minutes, to assist Pepperdine to a tie score of 45-45, with 13:01 left.
“We’ve all been on the same page the last four games,” said Kennedy. “Things just started clicking and we’ve spent a lot of practice time working on defense and rebounding. Right now we’re just going to go celebrate this win!”
Sophomore Teena Wickett made a lay-up shot to give the lead back to the Waves 51-49 with 11:50 on the clock. The Dons tied the score two more times before Pepperdine went on an eight point scoring run to widen its lead 65-57, with 5:23 remaining in the game.
San Francisco was unable to bounce back and a series of free-shots (5 points) by Shannon Johnson (Highland Village, Texas / Marcus HS) secured the win for Pepperdine when the buzzer sounded.
Kennedy was the game-high scorer with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Ayim had her eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Waves were, Ross with 12 points and Wickett with 12 points and five assists.
Rollins was the high-scorer for the Dons with 17 points, making 5-of-11 three-pointers. Dominique Carter scored 15 points while Nykia Peace added 10 points for San Francisco.
Pepperdine finished the game shooting 60% on field goals to San Francisco’s 37%, 54% on shots from beyond the arc to USF’s 48%. The Don’s out-shot the Waves on free-throws 75% to 55%.
Next up for the Waves is the WCC Tournament in San Diego, Calif., March 6 – 9. Pepperdine plays Gonzaga at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 6th.
