Pepperdine University
Long Beach State
Waves Drop Season Opener to Long Beach State, 44-41
11/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's basketball team dropped its season opener to Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon, falling 44-41 at home.
The Waves open the season 0-1, while LBSU moves to 2-0 on the year. Pepperdine had an early lead and after giving it up in the second half, came back to tie the game, but couldn't make it all the way back.
After falling behind by seven points in the fourth quarter, The Waves stormed back with less than five minutes to play in the final period, going on an 8-1 run to tie the game with 30 seconds left.
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote (Hillside, N.J./Hillside HS) got a steal and layup to kickstart the run, making it a four-point game with just over three minutes left in the game. With one minute to play, freshman guard Barbara Sitanggan (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) hit a layup to beat the shot clock, making it a 41-40 contest. A Pepperdine free throw tied the game with 29.9 seconds left, but three 49er free throws over two possessions gave the visitors the win. Pepperdine missed a two-point jumper and last-second three in the final 30 seconds.
Sydney Bordonaro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Burrell HS) led all scorers with 12 points in the game and Allie Green (Sacramento, Calif./Sacramento HS) had 11 points and nine rebounds. Jewelyn Sawyer led LBSU with 11 points.
After a low scoring first quarter, the Waves jumped out to a double-digit lead thanks to an 11-0 run to start the second quarter. The 20-8 advantage all but disappeared by the break thanks to an 11-0 response from LBSU.
Pepperdine led 20-19 at the break after getting 11 first-half points from Bordonaro. The Waves shot 42.9 percent from three through the first two quarters, but just 50 percent from the free throw line. The 49ers hit just 1-of-6 free throws in the first half and 2-of-18 threes, but forced the Waves into 11 turnovers.
LBSU would outscore Pepperdine 11-6 in the third quarter and then push it to a seven point game, 40-33, midway through the fourth quarter.
Neither team shot well from the free throw line, with the Waves going 13-for-24 and LBSU going 11-for-30. Pepperdine shot 40 percent from the three point line, while the 49ers hit just 14.3 percent of their threes. LBSU scored 16 second chance points, though, and got 25 points from its bench.
The Waves will be back in action on Tuesday when they head to UC Santa Barbara for another non-conference matchup.
