Pepperdine University
Santa Clara
Waves Orchestrate 62-56 Comeback Victory at Santa Clara
12/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2011
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After a first half that saw the Waves score only 13 points, the Pepperdine women's basketball team came back in a furious way, scoring 49 points on 62.1 percent shooting from the field to defeat Santa Clara on the road, 62-56 on Saturday afternoon.
It was a tale of two halves for the Waves (7-6, 2-0 WCC) in their second West Coast Conference game of the season. In the first half, the Waves were plagued by a 23.8 shooting percentage, and the Broncos (7-7, 0-1 WCC) took advantage of 15-of-27 from the field to build a 35-13 halftime lead.
In the second half the tides turned completely, as the Broncos were the ones struggling to find the bottom of the hoop, shooting just 28.6 percent from the field, as the Waves found their rhythm and shot an impressive 62.1 percent and were 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The Waves were led by senior guard Lauren Bell (San Bruno, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep), who finished with 18 points and was 2-of-3 from three-point range. Senior guard Jazmine Jackson (Oakland, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep) was next with 16 points, and senior Katie Menton (Coarsegold, Calif./Yosemite HS) scored all 15 of her points in the second half to spark the Waves to the victory.
Both squads started the first half slowly, with only seven combined points being scored in the first five minutes. The Waves went down 7-2 off a Bronco layup with 14:57 left in the half. A three-pointer by Jackson at the 12:42 mark kept things close at 7-4, but the Broncos would reel off seven-straight points through the 9:30 mark to put the score at 14-4. A jumper by Bell would make it 14-6, but the Broncos would answer with a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 21-8 with 5:51 to play.
The Waves and Broncos would trade baskets through the 3:56 mark, but the Broncos' lead would stay in double-digits. The Broncos would capitalize on two Waves turnovers, putting their lead at 14 with 2:41left in the half.
The Broncos would finish off the final two minutes of play with a 6-0 run, including a jumper with one second on the clock to put the score at 35-13 at the half.
The Waves' 13 second half points was one away from the lowest half scoring output in Pepperdine history. Bell led the squad with seven of the team's 13 at the half. In the second half, Jackson sparked a 9-0 Pepperdine run, and the Waves shored up their defense, not allowing the Broncos on the board until a free throw at the 14:54 mark.
The Waves would answer with a Jackson layup and a steal on the defensive end that Menton converted to a three-pointer with 14:16 to go. That basket put the Waves down by only nine, 36-27.
Bell hit a layup with 13:05 to go to put the score at 36-29, but the Broncos answered with a three-pointer to extend their lead back up to 10 with 12:43 to play. Menton would answer with a three-pointer of her own, her second of the half, to put the score at 39-32.
A free throw by Jackson with 11:41 to go, followed by Menton's third three-pointer of the half cut the Broncos' lead to three, 39-36. Bell would follow with 1-of-2 from the free throw line to cut the score to 39-37 with 10:23 to go.
The Broncos would answer with a three-pointer, their first score since the 12:43 mark to push their lead back to five, 42-37 with 10:12 to go.
Back-to-back jumpers by Bell and Shay Cooney-Williams (Frisco, Texas/Frisco HS) put the Waves' down only one, 42-41 with 9:06 to go. The Broncos' answered with back-to-back scores of their own through the 8:19 mark.
Through the next three minutes the Waves and Broncos continued to trade baskets. Menton's layup with 5:57 put the score at 50-49, Broncos. That score would hold up through the 3:23 mark, when Bell sank two free throws to give them their first lead of the day, 50-51. Jackson would follow with an and-one play with the clock at 2:44 to give the Waves a 54-50 lead.
The Broncos cut it back to two, 54-52 with 2:26 to play, but the Waves came back with back-to-back scores to push the lead to six with 1:03 to go.
The closest the Broncos would come in the final minute was 59-53 with 41 seconds left. Cooney-Williams would hit her only three-pointer of the game with 17 seconds left to solidify the win for the Waves, 62-56.
The Waves will return to Malibu to host Gonzaga on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. PT.
