Pepperdine University
New Mexico State
Pepperdine Falls at New Mexico State 75-66
11/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The Pepperdine women's basketball team dropped a 75-66 decision on the road to New Mexico State on Wednesday afternoon.
The Waves got a third straight double-double from Yasmine Robinson-Bacote and had three players score in double figures, but it wasn't enough to overcome poor free throw shooting. Robinson-Bacote posted 22 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs for the sophomore.
The Waves made it close late, but 23-of-39 shooting from the free throw line made up much of the difference. On the other side the Aggies hit 27-of-33 foul shots.
Pepperdine cut it to a seven-point game late in the fourth quarter after trailing by as much as 15 points in the final period. An Allie Green jumper followed by two Robinson-Bacote free throws made it 63-56 with 2:34 to play. The Waves later made it a five-point margin with less than two minutes to go, when Paige Fecske made a layup following two more Robinson-Bacote foul shots. 10 of Robinson-Bacote's 22 points came at the charity stripe.
Four free throws by the Aggies pushed it right back to a 69-60 lead. New Mexico State made 10 free throws in the last two minutes to hold off Pepperdine.
Green finished with 16 points and Fecske added 13. Brooke Salas scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies.
The Waves trailed by 11 midway through the second quarter, but went on an 8-0 run to cut it to a three-point game. Fecske capped the run with a three to make it 20-17 with 3:08 to play in the half. Sydney Bordonaro added a three to keep it a three-point game, but New Mexico State got the last two field goals of the half to take a 29-23 lead into the break.
A 10-4 run to start the third quarter pushed it to a 12-point game. The Aggies would be up by double digits until Pepperdine's late push.
The Waves will be back in action next Sunday, when they host Duke for a 12 p.m. game in Firestone Fieldhouse. It is the first time the Blue Devils have made the trip to Malibu. That game can be seen live on TheW.tv.
