Watch Women's Hoops Final Live on ESPNU
March 7, 2010
Click the above video player to watch the Pepperdine press conference following the Saint Mary's game.
WCC Tournament Updated Notes (PDF)
THE FACTS - Following a 60-51 quarterfinal victory over rival Loyola Marymount and a 62-56 semifinal win over second-seeded Saint Mary's in the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament, the third-seeded Pepperdine women's basketball team takes on top-seeded and 17th-ranked Gonzaga in the championship with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Pepperdine has won 20 games for the first time since 2003.
GAME #31 - Monday (March 8) at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.: #3-seed Pepperdine (20-10) vs. #1-seed Gonzaga (26-4) at 12 p.m.
WCC TOURNAMENT - Pepperdine is making its sixth appearance in the championship game. The Waves lost the first two times (1999 and 2000) but have won the last three (2002, 2003 and 2006). In the most recent championship, which came in Julie Rousseau's second season, the Waves beat top-seeded Santa Clara in the final as the #4 seed.
GONZAGA - Pepperdine is 29-23 all-time against Gonzaga. The schools are 3-3 in the WCC Tournament. The Waves won the first three meetings (1998, 2000 and 2002 first round), and the Bulldogs have won the last three (2004 and 2005 semifinals, 2008 first round). Overall, Gonzaga has won 12 of the last 15 matchups.
FIRST GAME VS. GONZAGA - Back on Jan. 21 in Firestone Fieldhouse ... Both Pepperdine and Gonzaga entered the game 3-0 in the WCC, but the Bulldogs came away with first place after a 107-64 win. The Waves fell behind 55-28 at halftime and were outshot 61.3% to 38.3% and outrebounded 46-29. Kelsey Patrick scored a team-high 10 points.
SECOND GAME VS. GONZAGA - Back on Feb. 20 in the McCarthey Athletic Center ... Jazmine Jackson had team highs of 16 points and eight rebounds, but Pepperdine suffered an 87-45 road loss at Gonzaga. Jackson made six of 11 shots and was Pepperdine's only player to reach double-figures. Kelsey Patrick scored nine points and Skye Barnett added six. Gonzaga had a 15-10 lead seven minutes into the game, but an 18-0 run over nearly a 10-minute span put the Bulldogs ahead by 23. Gonzaga went into halftime with a 45-20 lead. The Bulldogs had a 57.6%-26.2% shooting advantage.
QUARTERFINALS - Lauren Bell scored 17 points to lead Pepperdine to a 60-51 win over rival Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals on Saturday. After falling behind early, the Waves went on a 24-4 run to end the first half and eventually went ahead by as many as 25 points in the second half before LMU closed the gap toward the end. Miranda Ayim had 13 points and nine rebounds, Katie Menton made three three-pointers and scored 12 points and Jazmine Jackson posted eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
SEMIFINALS - A 20-2 run in the second half erased a nine-point deficit and helped Pepperdine to a 62-56 upset of #3-seed Saint Mary's on Sunday. The Gaels scored 10 straight points to go up by nine at 39-30 with 16:15 left, but Pepperdine went on a 20-2 run to take a nine-point lead at 50-41 with less than 10 minutes to play. Despite battling foul trouble in the second half, Miranda Ayim led four Pepperdine players that reached double-figures with 13 points. Saint Mary's cut the Waves' lead down to two points in the final minute, but Ayim sank a game-clinching jump shot with 17.5 seconds left. The Gaels' enjoyed a 40.7%-35.5% shooting edge, but the Waves forced twice as many turnovers as they committed (20 to 10).
END OF THE FIRST HALF - Over the last two games, in the final five minutes of the first half, Pepperdine has outscored opponents 19-0 (11-0 vs. LMU and 8-0 vs. Saint Mary's).
BIG RUNS - Both of Pepperdine's WCC Tournament victories can be credited to a couple of big sequences. The Waves had a 24-4 run over the final 10 minutes of the first half against LMU. They had a 20-2 run in the second half against Saint Mary's.
AYIM IN THE RECORDS BOOK - On Pepperdine's career lists, Miranda Ayim ranks #1 in blocked shots (179), #6 in field goals made (567), #8 in rebounds (723), #10 in points (1,348), tied for #8 in games played (117) ... On the single-season list, she ranks #1 in blocked shots (80).
ROUSSEAU - The Waves have now won at least one WCC Tournament game in four of Julie Rousseau's six seasons. Her previous high for wins in one season was 16 set last year.
