Final Stats

Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - A short-handed Pepperdine women's basketball team fell just short against Pacific on Thursday night, falling 63-59 in a game that went down to the wire.

After trailing by double digits in the second half, Pepperdine evened the game and made it close all the way to the final buzzer. The Tigers were able to make their foul shots down the stretch, though, to hold off the Waves.

"Our intensity in practice was up all week and that carried over into this game," said head coach Ryan Weisenberg. "We weren't able to pull it out in the end, but even when we were down big in the second half, the girls didn't lose their focus and that's what kept us in it. They stuck to the game plan tonight and kept the intensity up."

Missing leading scorer Bria Richardson (Hawthorne, Calif./Serra HS) and after trailing by as much as 15 points, Pepperdine went on a 19-4 run midway through the second half, evening the game at 50-50 on two straight Olivia Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Woods HS) layups with 9:29 to play. Madison Parrish answered with a three for Pacific to stop the run and keep the Tigers in front, though.

Ogwumike had 10 points through the first 10 minutes of the second half and the Waves hit 50 percent of their shots early to pull even.

A 6-0 spurt put Pacific back up 59-53 with just under five minutes to play. Kelsey Brockway (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) hit a jumper to make it a four-point game and then followed with a layup to make it 59-57 with 1:37 to play. Kristina Johnson hit a pair of foul shots to make it a 61-57 Pacific lead with 35.6 seconds left, but Keitra Wallace (Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda HS) would answer by getting an offensive board on the next possession and knocking down her foul shots as well. Pacific would knock its next two free throws down to seal it, though, as the Waves couldn't find another bucket in the final seconds.

"Olivia really stepped up for us and had a big game today," said Weisenberg. "She was big on the boards and offensively for us. She's growing and has been getting better and better each game. Ea Shoushtari as well had a great game handling the point guard duties with Bria out. I thought she did a great job keeping us calm and holding us together when they would go on a run."

Ogwumike finished with a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds, and Wallace led the team with 17 points in the game. Shoushtari (Los Angeles, Calif./L.A.C.E.S.) finished with a season-high nine assists as the Waves had 22 helpers on 24 made baskets, which was a season-best for the squad.

"We had some good individual performances, but overall this was a team effort tonight," said Weisenberg. "Everyone worked together to keep us in the game and focused. We just need to build on this effort and figure out how to get over the hump and win next time."

Pacific was led by Parrish who had 14 points in the game and Kendall Kenyon posted a game-high 12 rebounds. The Waves actually out-rebounded Pacific 42-37, but the Tigers had a slight edge in points in the paint, 24-20, to make up the difference. Pacific also hit eight threes to just two for Pepperdine.

The Tigers move to 15-6 overall, 7-3 WCC with the win and Pepperdine drops to 6-15, 1-9 WCC. The Waves will be back in action on Saturday when Saint Mary's comes to town for a noon game.